LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
CHRISMAN—Art. An element of life that appears everywhere around us. One small master of the element calls Chrisman home. Lindsey Franz, a current Illinois State (ISU) student, quit her part-time job and created work out of her passion for the arts.
“From a young age, I just loved art, but never really considered it a career path until I got into high school. My art teacher told me,‘You don’t understand that you can go so far with what you’re doing.’ So that’s when I really started to look into it,” said Franz. “I realized, yeah, maybe I can do this. And, the more I put myself out there, and people noticed that I could do this, they showed me that I can start a business out of this. I can have a career path.”
At the ripe age of 16, during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Franz created her first display of art.
“During COVID, a lot of these businesses that had to shut down or couldn’t have their (lobbies) open, wanted something inviting from the outside. So, if they can only use their drive-through, they just wanted something on the windows to bring people back in, because it was a tough time,” she said. “So that’s when (I got my) first job at Subway in Georgetown. They asked me if I wanted to paint something inviting on their window to let people know that they had a drive-through. After I posted that on Facebook, the word got out, and it was just one after the other. And I have been doing that ever since.”
With each stroke of her brush, Franz creates magic on a variety of mediums. From windows to silos, even on graduation caps, Franz’s art shines and expresses her abundance of creativity.
If you travel around Edgar County and surrounding areas, you might catch a view of her displays. Some of her pieces include fall illustrations on Chrisman Public Library’s windows, the sprinkle wall outside of Frosted by Maddie in Paris, a welcoming display on the doors of Lakeview College of Nursing in Danville as well as a ‘corny’ display of painted propane tanks.
“Windows are fun because they’re not necessarily permanent. So those are easily scraped off and repainted for each holiday season or promotions,” she said. “I have a lot of businesses that have me back and we do a different theme every so often. Whereas murals, I feel are more prideful for me, because they are permanent. They will be there for much longer and usually take a lot longer (to create) as well.”
Art is not an easy, two-step process. It’s full of planning, changing and patience; the process of designing and creating a piece of art with her clients remains the leading thrill of Lanz’s art.
“My favorite part about the creative process would have to be being able to take someone’s vision and turn it into a reality through my art,” she said. “Coming up with designs can start from a number of things, the customer’s vision or ideas, a collection of things I’ve seen before, or recently, I’ve been able to make things on my graphic design software and then transfer those to a painting.”
If given the opportunity to paint anything, anywhere, Franz makes it clear nothing beats the local support she receives and she wishes to continue the journey close to home.
“I am not necessarily looking to become worldwide famous. I love serving my communities and there’s plenty of people that support me around here. I have always wanted to paint on one of those tall, concrete silos in small farming communities,” she said.
When asked what advice she could give to anyone, young or old, interested in art, Franz gave support to them and encouraged individuals to take pride in the work they put out into the world.
“I would tell them every dream can become a reality. Don’t let someone tell you that your hobby can’t become a career. None of your work is going to look good at first, but you have to trust that over time, and with a lot of practice, you can absolutely become the artist you want to be.”
Anyone interested in viewing Lindsey Franz’s portfolio or hiring her for a piece of artwork can contact her at 217-264-6342 or view her Instagram account (@laf.design.art) online.a