EVANSTON — When local artist Michelle “Chely” Gomez agreed to give the skate park a facelift, she hoped to create something that could be cool, hip and a colorful talking point for the town.
What she got instead — at least initially — were multiple visits from the police, called out to deal with an alleged vandal desecrating city property in broad daylight.
“Oh my gosh,” Gomez told Cowboy State Daily. “That was crazy. Working on the skate park sparked some interest, but it was when I went to paint the retaining wall at the pickleball courts that it got a little nuts.”
Commissioned by Evanston Parks and Recreation as a way to add a little color to the popular skate park, Gomez also offered to paint the concrete borders around the new pickleball courts on 6th Avenue.
The rec center loved the idea, and Gomez went to work, though the proximity of the courts to the bustling street meant a constant stream of folks driving by. More than a few took it on themselves to call the cops, much to the artist’s amusement.
“People really started paying attention when I started on those walls, because it’s a busy street,” Gomez said. “A cop pulled up and told me he had been getting calls and wanted to know if I had permission to do what I was doing.”
Gomez began to explain that she did, though before she could finish, a second patrol car pulled up.
“The second cop said he’d been receiving a lot of calls, as well,” she explained. “All people were seeing was me and my little paint car [her 1990 Ford Festiva, nicknamed ‘Lola’] and my spray paint. So, of course, it looks like vandalism.”
Adding fuel to the fire was June being Pride Month, and folks were concerned Gomez was making a political statement with her multicolored walls.
“I guess callers were worried about my choice of colors — that it was Pride Month never even crossed my mind,” Gomez said. “One of the cops asked me if that was my final design, and I explained, ‘No, I’ll be adding pickleballs, tennis balls and basketballs, eventually.’”
Satisfied, the cops left, but not before Gomez had spray-painted the words “I Was Hired” on the back window of Lola, lest anyone have any questions.
“That seemed to do the trick, because people stopped calling,” she said. “Now all I get are calls from people who really enjoy how it looks.”
Evanston artist Michelle ‘Chely’ Gomez is all smiles as she shows off her work at the Evanston Skate Park. Local skate and scooter instructor Cutter Nicholson is in the background. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily) 
An eclectic design was the theme for artist Chely Gomez, commissioned by the Evanston Parks and Rec Department to add a little color to the local skate park. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily) 
Scooter enthusiast Cutter Nicholson grabs some air off the newly-painted ramp at the Evanston Skate Park. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily) 
After a couple of run-ins with local law enforcement, Evanston artist Michelle ‘Chely’ Gomez decided to use her 1990 Ford Festiva (nicknamed ‘Lola’) to spread the word that she’d been hired to paint the skate park. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily) 
Evanston artist Michelle ‘Chely’ Gomez adds a few touchups to her work at the Evanston Skate Park, as local scooter enthusiast Cutter Nicholson looks on. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily)
The Genesis Of Skater Art
One could aptly describe Gomez’ work at the skate park as a fever dream — lots of color, abstract shapes and designs, with an all-knowing eye and angels’ wings among her murals. In short, it was just what the local skating community was looking for.
“The response to the work at the skate park has been really positive,” Gomez said. “A lot of people have gone to check it out, even those that don’t skate. And from what I’ve heard from the rec center, feedback has been really good.”
Asked how the Parks and Recreation department approached her for the project, Gomez said she already had a relationship with the rec center, having worked there in the past.
“I painted the windows at the rec center a few times over the years, so they knew I was artistic,” Gomez explained. “Some of the local skaters had been asking the rec center if they could paint something on the skate park, legally, which the center agreed to, but only if it was supervised.”
No one stepped up to supervise the proposed project, so it fell by the wayside.
That is, until the rec center remembered the work Gomez had done for them, and reached out.
“They asked if I’d be interested, and I said, ‘Oh, absolutely.’”
Alicia Melchior, the recreation division manager at the parks department, said her office had been brainstorming ways to brighten up the park for years.
“We've been trying to improve different areas of our parks, slowly but surely, since Kim [Larson, director of EPRD] and I took over,” Melchior explained. “The skating park was a sad, sad, gray place. And unfortunately, we don't have any water out there, so we can't put any flowers or trees to kind of give it some life or color. We thought that maybe adding some paint, and then that shelter, of course, would give it a little bit of life.”
An Offer She Couldn’t Refuse
When the idea to paint the skate park once again resurfaced, Melchior said Gomez immediately came to mind, and the parks department made an offer. The project took a little over a week, and parks officials couldn’t be happier with the results.
“We thought it was fabulous,” Melchior said. “I think it looks great — I love that she took the time to talk to the kids that skate there every day. She got their input and got a feel for some of the things that are important to the skating community, and incorporated those ideas into the piece.”
Gomez spent a couple of afternoons at the park talking to local skaters, hoping to get a feel for what they would like to see.
Many of those suggestions made it into the final design. She then asked parks officials if they’d be interested in adding a little life to the retaining wall around the pickleball and half-court basketball courts.
“We thought it would be a good way to tie those two spaces together,” Melchior said. “We wanted the pickleballs and the basketballs to reflect what those courts actually are, then use the color to tie into the skate park, since they’re on the same block.”
Response to both projects has been overwhelmingly positive — save for those who felt the need to call the cops.
“Everything we’ve received in terms of feedback has been positive – everyone seems to love it,” Melchior said. “It gives a lot of color to that space, and I think it does draw your eye to the skate park, whereas before, it was just a dull area you didn’t pay attention to.”
Gomez echoed that sentiment.
“Some of the regular pickleballers, the seniors who play there every morning, they’ve all told me that they love it,” Gomez said. “They’re happy to have something on there, because it was just gray and drab before. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, so that’s good.”
In Demand
One can find examples of Gomez’s work all over town: Paff’s Restaurant, the Union Pacific Depot, the Evanston Library, the conference room at Bear River Apartments and the Uinta County School District’s bus barn.
The skate park and pickleball courts are just the latest projects for an ever-growing list of projects in Evanston and around the region.
“I just did a mural in Lake Tahoe, California, and I have a bid in for the railroad park in Evanston,” Gomez said. “I really want to paint that wall at Discount Liquor. I have a friend who knows the owner, so I’m hoping they’ll contact me.”
Should the Discount Liquor project come to fruition, Gomez envisions a ‘Welcome to Evanston’ postcard theme, featuring elk and other wildlife, as well as a mountain backdrop and images of the railroad mixed in – a reflection of what Evanston and the surrounding area have to offer.
“That’s my main goal for in-town projects,” she said. “I want that wall so bad, because I really want to do something for the town. Every town should have something like that.”
Local business owner Scott Kallas has commissioned Gomez for a couple of projects, including the wall of his shop at home, and at his business, Kallas NAPA Automotive Supply. It’s the work Gomez did at Kallas’ shop, however, that is truly special.
“I had built a shop on the side of my house, and I turned the loft into a man cave sort of thing,” Kallas said. “I had seen some stuff at other places that Chely had done, and she had actually done some window paintings for me – seasonal stuff – at NAPA. When she was doing our windows, I went out and talked to her about doing something with my man cave.”
Gomez agreed to take a look at it, and despite the challenges of painting OSB (Oriented strand board), decided to take the gig. The result was a Route 66-themed mural, with motorcycles and muscle cars, as well as a couple of surprises.
“I just ran a few ideas past her of what I was thinking,” Kallas said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking to do the entire back wall, but she had other ideas. We talked about a few things, but she came up with the majority of it. She did an amazing job.”
Evanston artist Michelle ‘Chely’ Gomez painted this Harley-Davidson for local business owner Scott Kallas; it can be found in the stairwell of his shop. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily) 
Evanston artist Michelle ‘Chely’ Gomez painted this mural for local business owner Scott Kallas’ man cave. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily) 
The mural Evanston artist Michelle ‘Chely’ Gomez painted for the Uinta County School District’s bus barn. (Don Cogger for Cowboy State Daily)
That Harley Looks Real
Gomez also painted a life-sized version of Kallas’ Harley-Davidson Fatboy in the stairwell leading up to the loft. The biggest surprise of the project, however, she saved for last.
“I went on vacation, and when I came back, she wanted to do this big reveal, and she wanted to do it at night, which I thought was strange,” Kallas said. “But when I got back, I figured out why – her big surprise was, you turn off the lights, and a whole bunch of the stuff she painted glows in the dark. It’s just the coolest thing.”
Kallas went on to call Gomez “super-talented at what she does,” with a good eye for knowing what the client wants. He also praised her generous nature, as many of the projects she’s done locally have been unpaid.
“I think it’s great she’s getting some exposure, because she’s talented, and has a really big heart,” Kallas said. “I know she’s done several pieces around town that she just donated. She has a big heart and does it because she loves to do it.”
Asked what she enjoys most about painting murals, Gomez said getting paid to do what she loves, as well as being able to immerse herself in the process.
“I really enjoy that I don’t have to think about anything when I’m painting a mural,” she explained. “Just having that silence in my mind while I’m working feels so good – it’s like a vacation. It’s relaxing to me – I don’t think about anything, and I love that. It doesn’t even feel like work. That’s the best.”
Gomez has a few new projects on the horizon, including another for EPRD at the local railyard. As work continues to come in, Gomez counts herself fortunate to do something she loves and get paid for it.
“I enjoy that it’s effortless on my part,” Gomez said. “But I also love the reaction that I get after it’s completed, and I show it to the client. Just knowing that they’re happy with it is really rewarding. And it brightens up a dull area, which makes me happy.”
As for residents who might see her out and about, working on her next project?
“They don’t need to call the cops on me,” she said laughing. “I’m hired, I promise. I’m not vandalizing anything.”
