Glen Meadows neighbor Brent Herling had a stroke of inspiration recently as he continues to paint a mural on the retaining wall on Marsh Lane between Forest Lane and Interstate 635. He decided to add a black and white image of Dallas’ Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

An electrical engineer, Herling began painting the mural in 2014 to cover up graffiti tagging. His depictions on Marsh include fields of bluebonnets, bamboo and benches — noncontroversial scenes he hopes won’t irritate the neighbors.

“I picked things that wouldn’t make people too complain-y,” he told the Preston Hollow Advocate in 2016.

Most of the neighbors supported Herling’s endeavor, we reported in early 2017, but it became controversial when one homeowner whose property abuts the wall, called the mural a “hideous eyesore.”

Here are four things to know about Herling:

  • Who commissioned him to create the mural: “No one. I’ve paid for and made the decision to clean up and improve the neighborhood on my own.  I did however get the neighbors’ permission whose homes back up to the wall.”
  • His inspiration: “The success of the Forest Lane mural proved to me that taggers will for the most part leave art alone.  It didn’t hurt that I had some paint left over from restoring the Forest Lane mural.”
  • On his background: “I am an electrical engineer with experience in space weapons, deep brain stimulation, car and cell phone battery management and, most recently, nuclear power.  I have no art training, but I grew up exposed to art thanks to my parents.  I make metal sculptures, but I’ve never created any paintings other than redoing the Forest Lane wall.”
  • Where he lives: “I grew up in the Glen Meadows neighborhood known as Glen Cove starting back in 1963. My wife Karen and I currently live in the home where I was raised.  We work together on the mural to beautify the area.”