From Latvia to East Texas: Muralist brushes region with color

Published 5:40 am Thursday, August 24, 2023

Dace Kidd’s first solo art show in eight years is set Friday at the the historic Arcadia Theater in Tyler. Doors open at 6 p.m.

There’s a good bit of land and a lot of water between Riga, Latvia, and Tyler: 5,343 miles as the crow flies — if crows fly that far.

And few stories in Northeast Texas have their first chapter in frosty North-East Europe, even less in Latvia’s stately capital beside the Baltic Sea. But that’s where Dace Kidd, (pronounced “Dot-sa”) grew up.



It’s where she was classically trained in studio art and where she began a globe-trotting art career that, however unlikely, intersected with East Texas in 2011.

“I moved here because of love and Mexican food,” said Kidd, 36. “I met a Texan and once I came to visit and tried the Mexican food, I got addicted. That sealed the deal for me.”

There was still an adjustment period, however.

“It was quite a culture shock when I moved here, especially when I realized that people speak Texan, which is quite different from English,” Kidd said with deadpan delivery — then a light chuckle.

These days, her artistic influence on East Texas is hard to miss. Just this week, another of Kidd’s custom murals has been completed. The side of Leslie Cain Realty’s office at 4208 Old Bullard Road in Tyler is now a beautiful work of art. With bold and vivid imagery representing the city, the mural tells a story of what it’s like to call Tyler home.

“There is something about painted murals that make me happy, and I think they captivate and inspire people and add vibrancy and life to the mundane things, such as office buildings,” said Cain, Broker/Owner of Leslie Cain Realty.

Cain said she had seen Kidd’s work in several places in Tyler and knew she would be the artist to create the special piece of art.

The mural is a bright and bold montage of the biggest symbols of Tyler including the Texas Rose Festival Queen, the Azalea District, sports legend Earl Campbell, Bergfeld Center, Liberty Hall and others, and also includes Leslie Cain Realty’s slogan, “Your Key to Sold!”

Only weeks ago, Kidd wrapped up work on the VeraBank parking structure in Longview, reimagined with silhouetted trees and earth-tone splotches.

Its towering columns of reinforced concrete are now camouflaged by flora, but what onlookers might not know is that the VeraBank project is the largest hand-painted mural in Texas — at least according to Christina Cavazos, executive director at nonprofit Arts!Longview.

Where street artists typically use spray paint, Kidd, owing to her fine arts background, delicately streaks the walls with a painter’s brush.

The distinction of the largest hand-painted mural was previously held by Kidd’s other nature-inspired work not more than 100 feet away on Methvin Street in Longview. There, bomb pops of floral color sprout from her “Flower Power” wall, depicting native blooms.

And that’s just a stone’s throw from her “Unity Mural,” a tribute to deceased local artist Anup Bhandari, commissioned in 2021 by Arts!Longview.

In Tyler, you can find more of Kidd’s wall art in several places, like her piece inside of Torchy’s Tacos or her Keep Tyler Beautiful-sponsored ”Welcome to the Rose Capital” mural on Houston Street. You will even see her work painted on Tyler Transit buses or business windows.

Though Kidd has acquitted herself well since her 2011 move, both as a Tyler transplant and as a street artist, murals were not always part of her repertoire.

About eight years ago, a friend who owned a restaurant asked for a mural at the business. Kidd said she remembers thinking to herself, “Well, how different can it be from doing a painting on canvas?”

But it was very different, “and very challenging,” Kidd said. “Yet that’s what made me become so passionate about murals.”

About half of her art is now on the commercial buildings, windows and walls.

Though it’s taken some time, all of that sweat, perching on ladders, and paint-stained clothing haven’t stopped the Latvian-American artist from staying true to her canvas roots.

Kidd’s first solo art show in eight years is set Friday at the the historic Arcadia Theater, located at 113 N. Spring Ave. in Tyler. The event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. There will also be live music from The Haggertys.

The building has served as a community art space for more than a decade and will be demolished in November to make room for the new Smith County courthouse.

“We’re all sad, but it’s also going to be a big party,” Kidd said. “ And there are already plans for a new space.”

Follow Kidd’s fine art projects on Instagram at @Dace_Kidd and her street art @MuralArtistTX.