Willie Nelson mural, torn down after a fire, returns to downtown Austin

A Willie Nelson mural is returning to East Seventh Street in downtown Austin after the original version was torn down following a building fire.

The original artist, musician Wiley Ross, says he was contacted by a developer and the owner of whiskey bar Seven Grand to replace the mural, which is now completed on the wall of 405 E. Seventh St. — only a few feet away from its original location.

Ross says he wanted to celebrate the 91-year-old country music star’s illustrious career.

“I mean people love his music, but I think what they really love more is the spirit of him and what he represents,” he says.

Painted on Nelson’s shirt in the mural is “WWWND,” or What would Willie Nelson do?

“People should ask themselves that,” Ross says.

Ross hired some people experiencing homelessness in the area to help work on the mural, located across the street from the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless.

“We’re all a couple paychecks away from being … in their shoes,” Ross says. “It doesn’t matter who it is — whether rich, poor, homeless, homed, whatever — they all love Willie Nelson.”