Cody Critt, a muralist and graphic designer from Piggott, Arkansas, recently transformed a wall in the local Myrtle’s Place restaurant in Downtown Poplar Bluff.
Critt said painting the mural at Myrtle’s brought back memories of his childhood when he would go there to have breakfast with his grandmother and family.
Leanna Alexander, owner of Myrtle’s Place, said Critt was great to work with.
“He is talented, professional and friendly,” she said, adding, he did a great job on the mural.
Alexander explained they had the opportunity to enjoy some dinners together during the completion of the mural, where they reminisced of his childhood days at the restaurant.
Critt noted he has been working on creating a name for himself in the art world for the past seven years. He explained what started as a simple request from his football coach to design a logo for the team’s helmets transformed into an even greater passion for graphic design and mural painting.
Critt said his journey began just before his senior year.
“My coach came up to me, knowing I was interested in the field of graphic art, and was like, ‘Hey, could you design some kind of Tomahawk logo for the football helmets?’” Critt said.
He responded, “Well shoot, I’ll take a crack at it.”
He said he was able to create the logo for the helmets quickly and it was used for several years after that.
“I just really enjoyed the process of designing and then seeing it come to life and then being used,” he said.
Critt said later the same football coach offered him the chance to paint a mural on a block house near the football field at his school.
“I think one wall was probably 80 feet long. Then I had to paint the backside as well,” he explained with a laugh.
Even with the massive size of the task, Critt said, “I just kind of went for it and spent pretty much the entire month of July painting that mural.”
The mural gained attention on social media, Critt explained, opening more doors for his career as a freelance artist.
He said his early work mainly involved canvas pieces and a few T-shirt designs. However, his biggest task came with the mural project that revitalized his high school’s football field. The mural, Critt said, featured the Mohawk mascot and the motto of “Pride, Guts, Desire.”
The success of this project, he said, further fueled his passion for design, as he found joy in seeing his work come to life and appreciated by the community.
Another notable project Critt has done in Poplar Bluff is the mural for the recently opened, Haff Whiskey Saloon. He said his art has garnered a lot of attention through his social media presence, primarily on Facebook and it is his hope that someday he will be able to focus solely on painting and graphic design. Anyone interested in reaching him can do so on his business page via Facebook messenger at www.facebook.com/codycritt or by phone at 573-718-3331.