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Greeley art project is covering the city's walls with colorful murals

Colorful wall art already covers 25 Greeley walls - and the town isn't stopping there! Soon, they plan to commission artists to paint the town's storm drains and utility boxes!
Credit: Rodriguez, Jacob

If you look closely at the side of Warm Hugs in Greeley, you’ll see a plethora of dots on the wall.

There are more colors on this thing than in a box of crayons. However, take a stroll across the street, and you’ll see a stunning garden mural.

“This is one of the most prominent art walls we have,” explains Greeley’s Public Art Coordinator Kim Snyder.

This mural is part of the Paint the Town Project. Greeley has been sprucing up its walls since 2009. The one at the corner of 10th Street and 8th Avenue is the 25th the city has commissioned.

“We’ve been trying to fill some downtown walls with murals,” says Kim. “They brighten the place up, bring more people in, and liven it up.”

Greeley is commissioning just over two dozen wall murals. Once they’re finished they plan to move onto painting the city’s storm drains and utility boxes.

The city hired an artist with close ties to northern Colorado for this project.

“Ella is a great fit because she graduated UNC, she did one of our first murals in town, she’s traveled the world. To bring her back to her hometown has been really exciting for everybody,” Kim says.

“I’m excited to be a part of that movement,” says artist Ella Yates.

Ella and her crew are assaulting the wall with sponge brushes.

“We’re painting it in the pointillism style,” she says. “The colors kind of play off each other and it creates a shimmering effect.”

Ella is the perfect person for this highly visible project. It’s evident when a class of third graders randomly strolls by her working.

She immediately leaves her brush in the bucket of paint to patiently explain her process. Everything from the funny brushes to the scissor lift.

“This is why I’m a public artist,” Ella says. “Working in the studio I really missed interaction with the public.”

For her, it is all about sharing her work with the public.

“We wanted this mural to be a simple uplifting vibrant piece that will encourage people to remember that art is important in life,” she says.

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