Often when people ask me where to take out-of-towners in Houston to show them a good time, I often recommend a self-guided mural tour of Houston! I’ve done this with my friends traveling from close and afar multiple times. The scope of Houston murals and wall art is expansive and dynamic. Old favorites get painted over; new inspiration emerges in its place. With the third year of HUE Mural Fest and initiatives from the Washington Avenue Arts District, the Houston mural and art scene is more vibrant than ever. This past year, I’ve seen a strong trend among restaurants and retailers to commission murals to be painted on the sides of their buildings to draw in business and designate their own hashtag.  While there are many, many more Houston murals that have arisen than what is encompassed on this list, here are 10 walls that are new to Houston that I think are impressive enough for a visit in 2018. Enjoy and let us know where you go and where your favorite artwork is!

Want more? This is the latest in a series of ongoing Houston mural posts! Check out our other #itsnothou posts: 10 Walls You Need to See in Houston , 10 Walls to Visit in Houston in 2017 and 5 Christmas Card Perfect Walls in Houston. Also be sure to check out all of the artists on Instagram. Many of them have other paintings and murals posted up across the city and are constantly creating new creations!

P.S. This post is sponsored by Houston BCycle! All opinions are my own. But if you want to see Houston in a really cool unique way, I highly recommend renting one of their bicycles and exploring the town!  Houston BCycle currently has over 50 stations and and will be adding an additional 40 stations and 1,000 bikes by the end of 2018! I’ve rented Houston BCycles and pedaled around Buffalo Bayou, which is a great date idea btw, and most recently took some friends to see the new art in EaDo! You can get a membership for $9/month ($25/semester if you’re a student!) or rent the bike out for $3/30 minutes. We rented bikes from Baldwin Park station in Midtown, biked up to EaDo to see some of the new HUE Mural Fest creations and then stopped and got [spiked] hot chocolate at Around the Corner. Super fun way to see the city!

1. #FlowerWall. 2112 Leeland St. This EaDo creation by Scott Tarbox (@tarboxx2) is one of my favorites that has popped up in East Downtown! Painted on the side of Greenleaf Wholesale Florist, the flowers remind me of emojis and have a emotion for every feeling you might have. Given that it’s painted on the side of a working retailer, hopefully this colorful sensation will stay up for a while!
2. Geometric Blue Wall. 2101 Winter St. This mural is one of many in the Winter Street Studio art block. Previously fenced off for many months, the interior of Winter Street Studios has been rebuilt to include a long patio with cement chairs and access to many new murals on the north side (closer to Sawyer St.) that were inaccessible earlier this year. Painted on the side of a warehouse with a ledge for all sorts of photo opportunities, this geometric mural is a bright pop of color to the Washington Avenue art scene. It was painted by Luisa Duarte (@luisaduarteart). 
3. #MoreColorPlease. 1112 Shepherd Dr. This colorful splatter paint wall was commissioned by Houston blogger Carrie Colbert for her Walls of Houston book and is located at the FM Kitchen & Bar patio. Mr. D (@mrd1987) painted the wall and below the many layers of paint there is a secret message. If you look closely you can see the sketch spelling out “More Color Please.”
4. Flower Wall.  2112 Leeland St. I particularly love this wall because during my adventures during the 2017 HUE Mural Fest, I actually ran into Raw Mirez (@rawmirez) painting the wall and got to know him a bit! He’s from the Rio Grand Valley, drove in for the weekend, and painted the whole wall in a matter of days. His work often incorporates traditional Mexican imagery, flora, and pop culture.
5. Waves of Wonder. 8080 S. Main St. Painted up three stories on the side of the Hotel Ylem building, this whimsical mural by Janavi M. Folmsbee (@artbyJMF) contains swirls of leaves, waves, and the profile of a blue eyed woman. Just a few blocks away from NRG Stadium, this whimsical piece brightens up the Lower Kirby streetscape.
6. #EmersonRoseWall. 1637 Westheimer Rd. Emerson Rose, one of our favorite boutiques in the Heights, recently opened up a second location on the edgy strip of Westheimer in Montrose. The rose colored wall–so fitting for the boutique’s name–rocks five shades of pink patterned concrete on the walls and ground and (of course) comes with its own hashtag.
7. Geometric Purple and Blue. 2202 N. Main St. Stumbling on this one by chance (like most murals I discover), this vivid pastel box was caught my eye immediately. Located at the corner of Quitman and Main Street, this mural is painted on the side of a small building, facing the METRO Rail tracks. Taking pictures here is a bit difficult because you risk going into the road, but this unique wall is off the beaten track and thus worth a visit. 
8. Wiley Car Wall. 1298 West St.. Located on the Northside of Houston a few blocks east of St. Arnold’s Brewery, this massive Wiley Robertson (@wileyart) creation expands a full city block across a warehouse. In distinctive Wiley fashion, it’s got graphic flowers, vibrant stair steps and patterns, vintage cars, and plenty of his iconic”love” tags.
9. #HoustonStrong Hand. 5550 Kelvin. No Houston mural list is complete without some reference to og street artist Gonzo247 (@gonzo247). Painted in Rice Village after Hurricane Harvey, this hand embodies the resiliency of the Houston spirit and even has a little Texas embedded in the center of the palm. Find this mural at corner of Amherst and Kelvin on the west side of the Rice Village parking garage.
10. Sugar & Cloth Wall Color Wall. 1201 Fannin St. Commissioned by GreenStreet in collaboration with Houston DIY Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth (@sugarandcloth),  this seven toned wall and floor and accompanying staircase adorns the side of ForeverXXI. Reincarnated from its first location in EaDo, the #SugarAndClothColorWall invites fashion bloggers and photography sessions of all sorts to occur as GreenStreet even sets up a changing booth outside for costume changes. Read more on the story behind the Sugar & Cloth Wall.
    

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