Alexander Austin climbed his way up from the streets and onto Kansas City’s biggest canvas

For the past nine months, Austin has been surrounded by a small army of construction crews and business boosters hustling to make Power & Light the most-talked-about district in downtown Kansas City. But elsewhere in the urban core, Austin's past work has fallen into disrepair. His first mural, at 58th and Troost, was recently painted over when the property fell into such decay that it angered neighborhood residents. The Malcolm X mural on Prospect has been gone for nearly a decade. After a few years, the homicide mural and the mock cemetery became the source of neighborhood complaints, and the lot owners painted over the neglected mural.

But Austin has moved on from his days of inner-city controversy. He says he has regained control of his drinking, though he admits to having a few too many beers on occasion. He recently moved to a tidy subdivision in Lee's Summit where all the two-story houses are nearly identical in their architecture, landscaping and shades of beige. The house is owned by Dana's adult son, who moved to Denver. She works as a cook at the upscale Benton's Steak & Chop House atop the Westin Crown Center hotel in downtown Kansas City. When his artwork isn't paying the bills, Austin says, he's lucky to have a supportive wife.

In the 10 years since the murder victims' wall, he has added to his public gallery a painting of the regal Osage Indian at 31st Street and Troost, and a Harry Truman mural in Independence. He's had a few gallery shows and does portrait work for clients such as the Metropolitan Bar Association, but nothing that nets much of a profit.

"This art thing is a struggle," he says. "You're either in or out. I've been on the brink of being homeless again, all the time, for years."

Austin admits he's not much of a businessman. He's done most of his murals for free or for a couple hundred bucks to keep him in groceries. Austin agreed to $44,000 for the massive Power & Light mural thinking that the project would take eight weeks, not eight months. But weather has washed out many work days. Concerts at the Sprint Center have given him little room to operate in the crowded parking lot. If an electrician needs to install lights near the spot Austin is painting, he's told to take the rest of the day off.

And murals that span two city blocks and tower three stories high aren't cheap to produce. Austin estimates he has spent at least $15,000 on paint and brushes alone. He has spent another $3,000 on insurance required by federal authorities in order to use the hydraulic lift. He's already spent $12,000 on that, but in recent weeks Cordish agreed to pick up the $1,800-a-month tab for the rest of the project. But that's been a mixed blessing. On a recent Wednesday morning, after days of rain, Austin's lift was already in use elsewhere in the district. By the time he finishes, Austin doesn't expect to pocket more than a few thousand dollars.

The painting won't have a long public life, either. Stephens, the Cordish spokesman, says he's not sure when the second phase of construction will begin. But when it does, a new set of condos will obscure the mural. Depending on the final design scheme, it may not be visible even from an alleyway.

Still, Austin hopes this opportunity will open new doors. The Cordish company is also paying him for a series of "Wanted" posters depicting famous gangsters. The art, faded to evoke a ghost-town atmosphere, doubles as signage for the PBR Big Sky Bar. He also painted the mural for the Maker's Mark Lounge. On this Wednesday afternoon, he gets a call on his cell phone from a Sprint Center representative interested in displaying some of his work in the arena and possibly having Austin sketch portraits of the celebrities who come through.

He's already looking forward to his next mural project. It's a kind of homecoming, bringing him back to the place he stayed when he was homeless about two decades ago. The City Union Mission recently asked Austin to paint a long wall in their recently expanded men's facility. On one end, Austin will paint guys frustrated and defeated by the stresses of poverty. On the other side, he'll show those same men, steady and successful.

He won't get a dime for his artwork. But to Austin, that mural will mean more than the one in the flashy Power & Light District anyway.

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