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When appreciating a mural by Jim Frank in West Point, LaGrange or the Valley, a surefire sign of its creator comes from the precision and accuracy of its design. The West Point artist has now left his unique and signature mark on Chambers County with a new welcome mural across from the historic courthouse. 

The mural welcomes visitors to the city with letters that showcase iconic images of LaFayette’s history, such as the historic courthouse, hills of a countryside farm, the Lady Justice statue and the Joe Louis statue. 

Frank’s love of art began early when his high school art teacher assigned his class to draw a house. Her encouragement for his linework inspired him to become an artist.

Frank’s career in mural painting began in LaGrange on the day of his son’s birth. At a small diner called Starlite Catering across the street from West Georgia Medical Center, he decided to try his hand at painting a mural logo. 

Since then, the artist has been spreading his talent around Troup County and the greater Valley area. One of his most memorable commissions was the approximately 7-foot by 30-foot mural of train tracks at Johnny’s Pizza in West Point. 

The mural has become an iconic image in downtown West Point and has helped draw in crowds, Frank said. 

Now, Frank has left his mark in the county seat with a massive 10-foot by 60-foot ‘Welcome to LaFayette’ mural, the largest one of his career as a muralist. But the mural vet said that the size doesn’t make the work harder, it only means that there’s more work to be done.

Frank, with the help of local artist and art instructor Thea McElvy, began the project in the fall and worked tirelessly day and night, often until 10 p.m. In only one month and two days, Frank said he logged a total of 222 hours of labor. 

Luckily, it was a labor of love for Frank, who said he was driven by his passion to make a work he and the town could be proud of. McElvy, Frank said, is from the area and donated her time for the project due to her love of the city.

“I like to think that instead of just painting it, I produce it,” Frank said. “And like, case in point is I get Thea to do what she can do very well. So that makes me a producer, because, you know, I’ve done what it takes to get the final outcome.”

Each artist has their technique and signature skillset and Frank’s is definitely his precise linework when copying a reference. In fact, Frank said that as the work went along he found himself adding details here and there to the original design to make it pop.

At the start of any mural, Frank said, he begins with photographs to help create an accurate design. 

With his original design complete, the artist then made sure he used the wall measurements to scale everything. Then, he laid down a fresh coat of white paint. The next step was to carry his projector out to the town square and create the outline. 

After that, though, the fun begins. 

“What it does to me when I’m painting is it just blanks out everything else, and I just go into my mind in a zone that I kind of have to be woken up from,” Frank said. “… You’re nervous every morning, and then here, in a little while, you’re just painting away. You know, it makes me happy.”

Throughout the process, Frank said he enjoyed getting to speak with local residents and passersby about the mural. Many of them had lived in LaFayette for generations and talked about how much they enjoyed the design.

“It really made the whole community so proud,” Frank said. He said that everyone he met while painting was “very nice and so complimentary.”