Celty Kearney’s passion for painting has been evident throughout her life, from taking art classes at Brownwood High School to studying art at the University of North Texas, to teaching art at Cross Classical Academy and Blanket High School.

Kearney’s most recent work can be found inside Teddy’s Brewhaus, as she’s working to complete a portrait of the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, during his days as a Rough Rider.

Teddy’s Brewhaus owner Jeff Tucker said of selecting Kearney to paint to piece, “I’ve watched her art for years since we’ve known her, she’s a good friend and I think she’s super talented. She started with a home painting on our pet Theodore and turned him into a Rough Rider and it hangs on a wall in here now. I asked her if she wanted to take this on, she’s got a lot of experience doing murals, and we sat down and looked at a couple of different images but we love that pose of (Roosevelt). It’s iconic image of the Rough Rider before he became president. We felt like it fit the room in there, too, because now it’s become a trophy room of sorts.”

Kearney said of the selection, “He shot me some ideas and chose this picture. It’s going to be a night scene and I’m trying to get the background going. There’s some little chips in the plaster that look like stars, so it’ll be interesting with how that comes about. This is my first nocturne.”

The texture of the walls in the former Weakley-Watson Hardware building has provided a unique challenge for Kearney during her task.

“This one is large, not the largest I’ve painted, but this is pretty large and detailed,” Kearney said. “It really is difficult. The biggest challenge was painting the hand and the horse’s neck. There wasn’t too much detail in the picture, but I wanted it to be anatomically correct. A big challenge is making sure everything is accurate and I want to get my values strong so it looks realistic. When you step back from a distance if the values are right the whole piece will come alive.”

Kearney grew up in a “creative home,” as she described it, as her mother was an artist and there was no television in the home. Along with teaching, Kearney in the past had also painted murals in her home and in the homes of other friends, but the COVID shut down a year ago reinvigorated Kearney’s love for painting.

“I did a lot of painting during the whole COVID shutdown,” Kearney said. “Before I was helping my kids get through school and not painting a whole lot, but the shutdown happened and they had Zoom classes online and I was able to take classes from some of my favorite artists in Seattle and New York City and that was a lot of fun. I painted all summer long.”

Once the painting inside Teddy’s Brewhaus is complete, Kearney – who works part time for attorney Tommy Adams – has additional projects awaiting her.

“I’ll also be painting murals on the outside walls facing Milton Avenue,” Kearney said. “This one inside is on this rough plaster, and Jeff felt like it would be a good place to start to see what it’s like painting on this divoted surface. I think the outside is going to be even more divoted.”

Tucker said of the impending outdoor project, “We’re keeping that a little ambiguous but it’s going to be very unique. I don’t know that I’ve seen it done anywhere, but she’s definitely going to be involved with it.”

Those interested in reaching out to Kearney to inquire about potential mural paintings may contact her through Instagram @celtykearney.