Beloved Cartoon Artist and Musician Is Remembered With an Unforgettable Houston Mural — Daniel Johnston’s Light Shines on Mental Health

On the side of the building housing Houston’s Redbud Arts Center lies a new art gem and homage to one of Texas’ most influential — and sometimes controversial — artists. Hidden behind an unlocked fence and guarded by a tutu-clad Humpty Dumpty sculpture, there is a new mural honoring the late artist and musician Daniel Johnston.

Johnston is known for his cartoons and for the music he produced and self recorded on cassette tapes. His Hi, How Are You? album is one of Johnston’s most iconic, easily recognizable for the cartoon frog that serves as its album cover.

This new Houston mural was created through the efforts of the artist’s sister Marjory Johnston, alongside Gus Kopriva and Tanja Peterson from Redbud Arts Center and artist Carlos Alcaraz, aka Empyre.

Central to Johnston’s legacy is the way his art represented his struggles with mental health, which included battles with manic depression that required a number of hospital stays and extensive medication over the years. Rather than hiding, Johnston was notably open about his condition. And he used his art to communicate his troubles.

Whether it was through the lyrics of his songs or the many iconic characters he drew (many might recognize Johnston’s rendition of Captain America, which was a manifestation of his father), Johnston’s work resonated deeply with his fans because of its vulnerability, optimism and raw creative spirit. Even after his death in 2019, Johnston continued to reach new, younger audiences through projects like this mural and Redbud’s exhibition this past January, which featured his later collaborative work with Marjory. 

This impact is what inspired the mural and exhibition, both of which are named for Johnston’s song “Don’t Be Scared.” The first few verses of the song are incorporated into the artwork as speech bubbles, sung by a collage of Johnston’s characters. 

“I know a lot of his fans mentioned that this song helped them so much when they were dealing with depression or mental illness,” Marjory Johnston tells PaperCity. “It’s just beautiful. It’s that charm that Dan has with his words and with his art that just draws people in.

“And it’s just so universal, so it connects with people. And they know it’s real, authentic.” 

Marjory Johnston herself traced and compiled her brother’s characters into the design for the mural, replicating exactly the Cyclops, duck, frog and other cartoons he was so recognized for doing. She added a river and waterfall that flows across the top of the mural, connecting the characters together and guiding the eye through the lyrics of the song. Alcaraz also worked to replicate Johnston’s iconic drawing style with bright colors and painting outside the lines, giving the mural a sentimental, authentic feel that would move any Daniel Johnston fan. 

This new addition to Redbud and Houston’s budding public art scene is both a piece of Johnston’s legacy and a reminder of the continuing importance of dealing with mental health, particularly for young people today. Through his sister’s efforts and organizations like Redbud, Daniel Johnston’s work and message live on, allowing him to provide generation after generation with a source of hope and a foothold in an increasingly chaotic world. 

The mural is free and open to the public to view and can be found on the outdoor side wall at Redbud Arts Center. To access the mural, visitors must pass through the unlocked gate and go past the Humpty Dumpty sculpture, which is a piece from artist Yuliya Lanina.