Unpacking the person that is Jeff Parson, creator of treasured Riverside yard art
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
Today, at 7:00 p.m., the Kansas City Chiefs will play their first game of the 2025 NFL Season against the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil. While all Kansas Citians eagerly await Mahomes’ first touchdown pass of the season, others are also antsy about the flick of another local’s wrist.
Alongside the bending intersection of Gateway Ave. and Riverside Dr. sits one of Kansas City’s most unique art exhibits. And one of Riverside’s most cherished residents.
Just north of the Missouri River, plopped next to Jockey Club Lounge & BBQ is Jeff Parson’s Riverside home. And in his yard, an ever-evolving art gallery that he began around 2018.
As the 2025 NFL Season kicks off, Parson has his hands full. In 2018, he set a status quo that he has retained over the years, and he is not willing to let the tradition die this football season.
During Mahomes’ first year as starting quarterback for the team, Parson began painting large wood cutouts of Chiefs players. The local artist has a need for expression, he says, which he is able to execute through his artwork. He says that he initially painted his first Chiefs piece and placed it in his front yard as a joke, thinking nothing of it.
“As a goof, I painted a big Chiefs thing,” he says.
But that “goof” has spiraled into seven ongoing years of projects for the Riverside resident. Each week, Parson crafts a new player of the team to stand in his yard, depending on who the top performers of the previous game are. He says that he usually begins each season with three players, working his way up to a whole slew of athletes standing in his yard by the time February rolls around. It has become a well-known heritage on the North side of town.
“Then, it just kind of exploded. Now it’s turned into—it’s almost people say it’s a tradition down here,” Parson says.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
Parson sees his yard as a medium between him and his community where creation meets public perception. Aware that he will likely never grace the likes of the Nelson or Kemper, he remains content, knowing that there are still plenty of eyes on his work.
“I’m never going to be in a gallery, but I got the greatest gallery out here in the world,” Parson says. “More people will see this in a day.”
His “yard art” has grown in popularity over the last several years, as the team has continued its dominant run over the AFC and NFL. During the years of playoff and Super Bowl appearances, Parson says thousands of citizens have come out to his yard. So much so that his Amazon-purchased security camera quit functioning because of how often it would go off.
“I thought, I’m gonna get into trouble here with all these people,” Parson says. “To come home after work and there’s just a spontaneous Chiefs party out here, there’s all these shirts of red, and I just pull up, like, ‘I live here, I need to get into my driveway.’ But to see that, that was cool.”
Parson’s next door neighbor Tim Augspurg, Owner of Jockey Club Lounge & BBQ, says that he and his crew adjacent to the Riverside home are no strangers to the traffic.
“When he puts those paintings out there for the Chiefs, we have 300 cars or so a day that will come through here,” he says.
But the influx of traffic in the bar’s parking lot doesn’t bother Augspurg when he considers who these visitors are out to support.
“He’s a good guy, very solid all around, very modest,” he says.
With the success of his Chiefs yard art, Parson began searching for different people and things to turn into large, carved paintings to place in his lawn. How he decides what his next craft will be is fascinating: He asks his peers what they are seeing blow up in the zeitgeist without telling them that they are giving him inspiration for his art.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
“I try to get it to where you tell it organically to where I’m not putting you on the spot,” Parson says.
In turn, it has transitioned into Parson crafting pieces that he may have never considered, yet generate great public response.
“I didn’t know what the hell Bluey was,” Parson says. “Somebody told me to put Bluey up. I didn’t know it was like Taylor Swift to the toddlers. That’s the only thing I’ve had in my front yard: free-range four-year-olds. It’s like, ‘Please God, don’t let Dateline show up.’
And it hasn’t stopped at just children’s cartoons; Parson has displayed other television and movie characters such as the King of the Hill crew and Star Wars Siths and Jedis, numerous musicians such as Dolly Parton, Muddy Waters, and Jelly Roll, Royals and Current players, the one and only Taylor Swift, and plenty of other notable figures.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
Parson says that getting noticed by Jelly Roll has been one of the more memorable culminations from his work.
“Jelly Roll picked up on it, and he posted it,” Parson says. “I was like, ‘That is so cool.’ Jelly Roll took that time to say, ‘Hey, this is cool.’”
But his yard art isn’t always fun and games. About two years ago, he painted and displayed drag queens on his front lawn, which he says is necessary during certain political climates.
“You have to be subtle about it and say, ‘We’re gonna keep this fun, but this is the way it is. Understand that. Don’t come around here with that shit. Don’t come around with hate.’ And I thought I would get blowback with the drag queens. No, they loved them,” Parson says.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
Turning his work to mirror what is occurring in society is typical for Parson. And when local Kansas City Firefighter Graham Hoffman tragically passed away this past April, he was quick to turn around a tribute for the first responder. Considering Augspurg’s family had a close connection to Hoffman, he says that Parson’s work was incredibly touching.
“He was my son’s best friend, and it was touching to us because we knew the kid since he was in first grade, kindergarten,” Augspurg says.
Where Music Meets Mural
Examining Parson’s yard art, it is obvious that the artist, who is also recognized under the alias Fearless Jack Rabbit Art, has quite a bit of experience working in the craft. But he is quick to mention that he has little to no formal training in the field, other than a small stint at the Nelson Art Gallery Program.
“I think that worked to my advantage,” he says. “I didn’t get structured into a system, I didn’t get pigeon-holed. I was just allowed to go do my own thing.”
Simply wandering around town, it isn’t rare that the everyday citizen takes an unknowing glance at some of his work.
30 years ago, Parson was painting in the City Market when he caught the owner of B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ’s eyes. Knowing that he wanted a mural of historic blues musicians in his restaurant, he approached Parson with the job. He took the gig, completing the piece in about a year and a half. Now, inside the restaurant and blues venue lives an incredibly intricate portrait that serves as a resemblance of the greatest blues musicians to grace ears.
“That’s what I consider my Sistine Chapel,” Parson says. “That will outlive me. When I talk to musicians, they talk about how much that mural means to them, and that playing under the mural of B.B.’s is how you certify yourself as a blues person.”
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
Just a few years ago, the B.B.’s team tracked him down to add a member of the house band to the mural. And during his decades of hiatus, rumors about Parson’s disappearance spread, which created a highly anticipated return for the artist.
“I’ve never seen people go from such excitement to disappointment that quickly,” Parson says. “I guess they were expecting me to come walking through like a cloud of smoke, pointed suit, all with tattoos. This mythology had been built up about the artist, and it’s like, ‘No, I’m just a chunky gay guy with a ladder.’”
Parson thoroughly enjoys working in the music scene, as he also created different band art for the American rock band Jackyl. In 2012, he was hired to create the album art for the band’s Best in Show record. It wasn’t until he was walking through a Best Buy that he realized they used his art for the album cover.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
“Walking into Best Buy and there it is,” Parson says. I was like, ‘Holy shit.’”
Ever since, Parson has completed countless projects for the band as he was deemed Jackyl’s unofficial artist. He cherishes the experiences that he has with the band, having many opportunities to be alongside the musicians for some of their shows.
“I wouldn’t have got that if I didn’t do art,” Parson says. “Everybody says I don’t make a fortune. I get paid by the job. I’m more interested in the memories that it can give me.”
Painting Purpose
Now, as the 2026 World Cup steadily approaches, Parson has been tasked by Clay and Platte County to create mobile art pieces for highly-trafficked areas to get locals pumped up in anticipation. Riverside has also hired him to create a ‘Welcome to Riverside’ project that tourists will see as they drive into town.
But these, as well as the yard art, are not at the top of Parson’s priority list these days. Men in Parson’s family have a long history of heart attacks at ages between 60 and 70. 18 months ago, he “overdid it” at Disney World, had a cardiac arrest on his flight back, grounded the flight, and hit the Nashville hospital.
“That’s a great feeling: walking down an aisle and everybody’s looking at you, like, ‘If I miss my connecting flight, you better die,’” Parson says.
While he can joke about the scare, he still realizes the seriousness behind his health. After losing his dad to a widowmaker’s heart attack when he was 70 years old, he understands that time is of the essence.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
“It could be any day now, I get the DM, ‘Hey, we’re having a party in the light, come on over,’” Parson says. “I’m bumping up against 60. The most important thing that I have right now is time. I can always make more money, but I don’t have time.”
As a result, he has shifted gears to begin crafting more personalized portraits of family members and other meaningful individuals and belongings.
“I noticed I don’t really have a huge body of work of my own, because I’ve always given it away,” Parson says. “At this point in my life, I know the clock is ticking. It’s time to start painting family and memories because at the end, that’s what I’m gonna have.”
That doesn’t mean that he won’t create a project for anyone else. It just means that it is going to cost a little extra.
“If I’m going to do a portrait, I’m going to get paid, either emotionally or financially,” Parson says. “Either I’m going to give it to you and it’s something you’re going to cherish, or it’s something that’s going to heal you, or it’s something to make you feel good, or you’re going to pay me for my time.”
One way that he executes this change is through Project Jackrabbit. During the pandemic, Parson began sketching small portraits of athletes, musicians, celebrities, and more. Then, about two or three times a month, he frames the artwork and places it somewhere in the city, posting pictures on social media of where his followers can find it. He enjoys these one off projects where he not only gives away free art, but also words of encouragement.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
Inside the art reads: “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!”
Knowing that his work possibly uplifts the day of random citizens is all that matters to Parson.
“My hope is that somebody who’s just having a shitty day, who’s just having a really tough time, comes across just a random piece of art, and there’s this crazy red rabbit rooting for you,” Parson says.
Behind the Brush
Jeff Parson is a larger-than-life person. His humor and laugh are contagious. His work speaks volumes. And his presence is known in the community. Whether that be by his coworkers at his day job working as a twilight stocker for Sam’s Club, where he spends every single lunch break painting, or by a random person who luckily snagged a framed portrait of Ozzy Osbourne last month, Parson’s work lives throughout the entire city. And in some cases, places that he doesn’t even know.
When he originally put his first piece of yard art up, he did not know what the response would be like. But Riverside recognizes Parson as a cornerstone of the North end’s community and has given him his flowers accordingly when he was named ‘Riverside Citizen of the Year’ just a couple of years back.
Jeff Parson with KC Current Yard Art. // Photo Courtesy of Jeff Parson
“People who are quirky and a little outside the box aren’t usually embraced by a community,” Parson says. “It’s like they try to shut that down, or, ‘We gotta keep an eye on that.’ But no, once the Chiefs stuff started, and Sunday Night Football showed up and shut down the road out here to take live video from it, they’re like, ‘No, we love what you do.’”
It’s hard not to love what Parson does, as he so generously allows anyone passing by to enjoy his innovations free of charge. And spreading positivity through his craft is what it truly comes down to for him at the end of the day.
“Before I kick off this earth, I want to pollute this world with as much creativity and positivity as I can,” Parson says.
As the 2025 NFL Season gets underway and the Chiefs hope to claim their first victory of the year, Parson will be tucked away in his workshop, tinkering with different stencils, brushes, and paint—which has become costly for him in recent years, and has, in turn, begun accepting Venmo donations that are used for future materials. In just about five months, his season-long work will be on full display at 4304 NW Gateway Ave., as the Chiefs aim to claim another Super Bowl victory.
