Remember the wall painting along the north side of 8th Street just west of Congress? It was covered up a few years ago, and now the new owner of the Hickory Street Bar and Grill, Colin McClelland, has decided that Austin needs something fresh, something singular, and something, for the moment at least, mysterious. McClelland promised that it will not become a billboard. "I want a mural that represents Austin," he said. An artist, Shawn Gillespie, will soon apply his paintbrush to that pea-green, stair-step wall and bring some privately sponsored art to a public space. Feel free to drop by watch or, to use Thoreau's words, "represent spectatordom" - a time-honored, summertime goof-off activity. more ›