Neosho resident Miguel Reyes is a part-time window and mural painter. Recently he and his girlfriend, and fellow-painter Lesli Barajas, painted several walls inside, as well as most of the exterior windows of El Pueblito, an authentic Mexican Restaurant. Miguel and Lesli painted people, buildings and other Mexican scenes at the restaurant on Neosho Boulevard.
Miguel said the owner of El Pueblito is a cousin who asked if he would do the job. Ironically, after doing part of the work, the two budding artists pulled off the Neosho job and did some redecorating for a Mexican restaurant in Cassville.
Lesli thinks that may be their best work to date.
Both young people were involved with art classes at Neosho High School. Reyes said he may have been one of the best artists in his high school class. He received a certificate for his work and had several pieces of his work taken by the teacher to art shows.
Lesli will be a senior in Neosho High School this year and will once again be enrolled in art.
"I like pencil drawings best," she said.
Ideas for the wall and window paintings come from sketches and photographs Reyes finds on the computer. However, he uses his finds only for ideas. He says he cannot paint very well "with my imagination."
Using a computer printout, Miguel pointed out how he had moved the sun and made it much smaller and less bright. He also had left out several other details from the original.
Both painters like to first paint the scene and then go over it a couple of more times to give the painting more depth and color.
"I really like bright colors," Lesli said, pointing to a sombrero band which was only a blue streak at the moment. She said, in the end, she would have it be a rainbow of colors.
Both Miguel and Lesli have Mexican ties who came with their families to the Neosho area between seven and five years ago. Miguel went to work at La-Z-Boy right after high school still works there. He does his creative painting on his time off. "It's a hobby," he said.
Both, however, say they would enjoy painting for a living. Although Miguel and Lesli mostly do Mexican theme paintings, they are open to paint nearly anything a customer would request.
Painting something of beauty for the public to enjoy can be a wonderful thing. The young painters, Miguel Reyes and Lesli Barajas, are working hard to give some viewing pleasure to customers at several area restaurants.
All the time they are painting, they work with what they say is their motto: "We try our best."
