Artist Recreates Oklahoma's Colorful History

Darren Brown, News 9

BETHANY, Oklahoma -- If you've driven around downtown Bethany you've probably seen the larger-than-life murals.

Most Oklahoma towns have books on their history, but in Bethany it's a lot easier to find. Matter of fact, all you have to do is take a stroll down the sidewalk, and take a look at the huge murals painted on the sides of buildings.

Bob Palmer has been painting murals professionally for over fifteen years. He started out painting in a regular studio, but longed for the "big" time.

Palmer, who teaches art at the University of Central Oklahoma, tackles the murals with the help of his own students. He says they've done numerous projects here in Oklahoma and even abroad, but these are his first here in his hometown of Bethany.

"It's fun, it's fun," said Palmer. "And you really gotta, kinda, get serious about it when you're here in your homeland, so to speak, because you've got to go by it every day."

Palmer plans to keep on painting murals, and keep on discovering more about his home state. He estimates he's done more than a thousand projects in Oklahoma alone.