#3 Numbers Mural - Rene Fernandez

Photo courtesy of houstonpress.com

Now this is a good one.  Located on the side of Numbers Nightclub at 300 Westheimer, this effortlessly cool mural was painted by local RAW Artist Rene Fernandez.  Following the repainting of the building's exterior, Fernandez actually approached long-time Numbers Manager Wes Wallace about the project in 2014.

From left to right, the portraits are Trent Renzor of Nine Inch Nails, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Blondie, Joey Ramone, David Bowie, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Morrissey, Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Robert Smith of The Cure.  Fernandez told the Houston Chronicle that each one took around two hours to complete, and the mural evolved in size and subject matter during its creation.  The figures represent the musical history of the venue, which apparently hosted some of the stars during their rise to stardom.

Fernandez himself is a regular at the venue. A self-professed music junkie, he is certainly suited to the task of capturing the club's punk/goth vibe. In his RAW profile, the artist is even quoted as saying "My world, is lots of art, lots of music for fuel".  As a self taught artist with no formal art education beyond middle school, Fernandez technical skill is surprisingly advanced.  He cites Caravaggio and Salvador Dali as influences, and the presence of both permeates his works through his handling of light and their often-surrealist subject matter respectively. 

Fernandez has exhibited in venues all over Houston, most commonly working with oil to create these quirky surrealist compositions with subject matter so bizarre yet so realistically rendered that they still seem to have a balance and serenity that can often be lacking in many surrealist artists' works. Obviously then, his Numbers mural is a little different to his usual work, but this in itself is not out of the norm. During his career, Fernandez has experimented with various media ranging from sculpture to silkscreening, along the way proving himself to be an incredibly versatile artist. 

Follow Rene on RAW to keep up with his latest works and exhibitons, and keep an eye out for this incredible mural too!

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