Kansas City’s ‘Fearless Jackrabbit’ hides amazing art for people to find

By Donna Pitman

Click here for updates on this story

    RIVERSIDE, Missouri (KMBC) — n a basement studio in the oldest house in Riverside, Missouri, Jeff Parson puts pencil to paper, creating images that leap off pages: sketches of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, head coach Andy Reid, Royals standout Bobby Witt Jr. and just about anyone people are watching.

“What I try to do is each week is [think about] what’s going on [and] what are people into? Of course, it’s Kansas City, so it’s going to be the Chiefs. It’s going to be the Royals. It’s going to be the Chiefs!” he said.

His drawings leave his studio almost as quickly as they come to life.

Parson puts pictures in public places, posts hints on Facebook and then walks away.

“What I want is someone who is just out there who may be having a bad day, who may be struggling a little bit, and they find this, and they pick it up without obligation, they look at the back, and they realize there’s somebody rooting for them,” Parson said. “There’s somebody on their side.”

On the back of each frame is a message: “FREE artwork! This artwork belongs to you now. Why? Because you’re awesome. Take this artwork and be happy. Be joyful. Be strong. But, most importantly, you be fearless. You got this. You’re doin’ great. You matter!”

Parson started dotting the metro’s landscape with this art during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I just saw how down everybody was getting, and I thought, I can’t do much, but what I can do is something with my talent,” he said. “So, I started leaving these little pieces of art at random locations and giving people something to focus on besides COVID.”

Parson didn’t want credit for his work or good deeds, so he signed the note, “The Fearless Jackrabbit.”

“Fearless,” because that’s what he encourages people to be as they are the best version of themselves each day.

The “Jackrabbit” part? He thought it was fun! It didn’t take long for people to figure out it was Parson. But he kept the name and has kept on spreading joy through his work.

The day we followed Parson, he left a drawing of Mahomes for someone to find.

Minutes after posting clues to Facebook, people were driving by, walking up and looking around.

The winner this time was 10-year-old Jayson VanDyke.

His mom saw Parson’s post and drove to what she knew had to be the Riverside Clock Tower.

“I get my braces off today and got to skip school,” Jayson said. “Once I tell my classmates, they’ll be jealous!”

Finding the art was a highlight of what may have been a rough day for Jayson.

On this day, Parson stuck around to see who picked up his piece. That gave the lifelong Chiefs fan a chance to tell the “Fearless Jackrabbit” how he will be a lifelong fan of his, too.

“I love this,” Jayson said. “I like to see all your drawings you do!”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.