HELENA — The Myrna Loy and City of Helena Rodney Street Is project is expanding with three new murals, to bring the total number of art pieces to 23.
"I think you know there's a lot of history here, and I think neighborhoods like this deserve some cool public art, and I think it's just an overall pretty cool project," said Griffin Foster, a spray paint artist.
Artists have been recruited to add three new murals along blank canvases of buildings. Griffin Foster's specialty is spray paint,
"I wanted to highlight some of the lesser-known Mount Helena native wildflowers, and I think there's a lot that goes unrecognized, so I wanted to do a shout-out to all the ones that don't get used very often. I wanted to stick to a neutral Montana native palette with many desaturated colors. I thought it would be appropriate for Rodney St," said Foster.
Foster's mural appears on the side of the Parole Building and just across the street Sophia Mathias is painting the building that houses Jester's Bar.
"I'm super stoked about it, and I'm super stoked to be given the opportunity to do a Peacock 'cause a lot of Montana they want to do like deer and landscapes and whatnot, which is fine, but it's nice to have some change," said Mathis.
Mathis's mural of peacocks represent dignity and rebirth, and this is her first big commissioned mural.
"It feels surreal because I started doing this just like a high school senior project, and I don't know. How I got to this point where I'm proud of myself to get here," said Mathis.
Mathis says the neighbors along Rodney Street have been so helpful during the heat of the long days.
"I love all the people that come out here and like I've gotten so many nice people just bringing me food while I work or like drinks, definitely my favorite community to ever work for, and yeah, I'm just super blessed," said Mathis.
Mathis hopes to finish her artwork by August 6th, and Foster will finish by the beginning of August.
The third mural will be painted by Louis Still Smoking and will be on panels on the side of the Myrna Loy and should be finished by the end of summer.