‘You matter’: Artist sends message of hope with free drawings

By Callie Counsellor

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KSHB) — You might not know Jeff Parson’s name, but you’ve probably seen his artwork.

KSHB 41 has talked to him previously about the Chiefs murals he has painted in his front yard.

Turns out, you can have your own artwork from Parson — you just have to find it first.

“It started during Covid,” Parson said. “I saw where other artists were leaving little pieces of artwork for other people to find to uplift people.”

Parson, who goes by the name Fearless Jack Rabbit on social media, has been leaving free art around the Kansas City area for three years.

One of his favorite responses to a free drawing happened about two years ago.

Around Christmas time, Parson had left a drawing of Patrick Mahomes near one of the fountains on the Plaza. A woman contacted him to let him know she found it.

She said her father had recently passed away, and her father had a special connection with Mahomes: they had the same birthday.

She told Parson finding that drawing made her whole year.

“I’m tired of the negativity. I’m done. The only way that I can bring positivity and happiness to this world is through my artwork, my creativity, and my stunning good looks,” Parson said. “So I’m about spreading random acts of joy.”

KSHB 41 decided to follow him as he set up one of his treasure hunts. The prize: a Taylor Swift drawing.

We drove to English Landing Park in Parkville, one of Parson’s favorite places to drop his free art.

“I love this park because it’s very community oriented. It’s a mix of everybody,” Parson said. “It’s got points of interest where I can put something and people will say, ‘I recognize that.'”

On this day, he chose the Eagle Statue as his hiding place. After posting the clue on Facebook, the treasure hunt was on.

“Normally, I just drop it and go,” he said. “But this is the first time I’ve ever seen if anybody will pick it up.”

We didn’t have to wait long. It only took about four minutes for someone to run up and grab the drawing. The lucky winner was Alisha Blackwelder.

“It’s just a lot of fun in general to have something like this so close to home, and it fosters a sense of community, and it kind of pulls us all together and gives us something to talk about and be excited about,” Blackwelder said. “This one in general is very exciting because my husband is a huge Swiftie, and I can’t wait to give it to him.”

Each drawing has a special message.

On the back, there’s a note that says “Free artwork. This original artwork belongs to you now. Why? Because you’re awesome. Take this artwork and be happy, be joyful, be strong, but most importantly be fearless. You got this. You’re doing great. You matter.”

For Parson, it’s a simple way to spread hope and kindness.

“They’ll look at this and say, ‘You know, there’s a stranger out there who’s rooting for me,’ and hopefully that makes them feel better,” he said. “And it’s a random act of joy. It makes me feel better, and that’s why I started doing that.”

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