A North Texas graffiti artist uses his skills to celebrate others
ALEDO – Travel down Bankhead Highway in Aledo and you will notice a large sign. It's not for a business, but for birthdays.
The sign is constantly changing with new reasons for celebration. Every vehicle that passes draws eyes to a new work of art by an artist who never signs his name.
The artist is a mystery to much of the community, and that's exactly how he wants it.
"I'm out here in the middle of the night spraying, almost like I'm undercover," said Ruben Orozco.
Orozco's gift is not just his art, but his faith.
"If I'm able to pray for these names as I'm spray painting them and that the kids will rise up and become what God has created them to be and that's where it became ministry," he said.
Each spray of the can is a reminder to him that life is precious.
"If it wasn't for Aledo, I wouldn't be doing this," he said.
The art form he uses now to celebrate, he learned because of a troubled past with gang violence and drugs.
"I never used to celebrate life with my story...it's like God broke me. Because I took life for granted for years. Because I could have died before 18…like getting shot at there were times I had near-death experiences because of the life I was living," Orozco said.
Now, he answers to a higher calling.
"It's like, birthday signs, you are celebrating life and...out here I am able to help them," Orozco said.
Paint is always a part of his life, and each day is a cause for celebration.
"You can't spell paint without that word, pain, and one day it's like there was a cross at the end of it," he said. "It was like confrontation...just keep doing what you've been doing."
His goal is to create a graffiti ministry for kids who are gang-affiliated or deal with drug addiction.
Orozco wants people to know there is no shame in making mistakes.