George Strait Gives His Royal Blessing to New San Antonio Mural

One of the kings of country music has been honored with a new mural right here in San Antonio, and its seems even the king himself is pleased with the work. The mural depicts George Strait, a San Antonio-area native born in Poteet who is widely recognized as the “King of Country.” While murals depicting local artists are nothing new, it’s pretty rare for artists themselves to offer their blessings, particularly over such a wide-reaching platform as Twitter.

The new George Strait mural was painted by local artist Matt Tumlinson is located along the St. Mary’s Strip, just north of downtown San Antonio. The mural takes up the entire side of a building, and in the mural Strait is depicted wearing royal regalia including a scepter and a crown on top of his trademark black cowboy hat.

Strait caught wind of the new mural and tweeted about it, writing “Now this is some Texas-sized street art! What do y’all think of the new #KingGeorge mural down in San Antonio? If you want to visit the spot to snap a pic, it’s on N. St. Mary St.”

On instagram, the mural’s artist Tumlinson and wrote “Had an awesome time painting on the home turf. “I’m so happy to be a part of @sanantoniostreetart!” This is the first time Tumlinson has painted a mural of a San Antonio-area artist

The mural is part of the San Antonio Street Art Initiative, a city-wide plan to bring works of art directly to San Antonians by placing it alongside buildings, under bridges, and in other public areas. Dozens of local artists have created new works along St. Mary’s as part of the initiative, including this new mural of George Strait.