Despite a looming, gray cloud overhead, the community came together to view and share their work on a series of 12 vibrant and colorful murals. Visit Alamosa, along with artists Bianca Maestas and Katie Dokson, had a stroke of inspiration to create murals that showcased what Alamosa and the San Luis Valley has to offer.
Dokson and Maestas landed on what connects us all: nature. The 12 murals span the length and width of the San Luis Valley’s natural wonder and splendor. From fish to hawks, cottonwood trees and bears, the sand dunes and UFOs, flowers and Mt. Blanca herself, nothing was left out.
After designing the murals, Dokson and Maestas handed off the painting to the community. Earlier in April, waves of locals showed up at a big red barn off South River Road and took part in a paint-by-the-numbers paint day.
What came out of that day is nothing short of incredible.
There are a lot of empty walls in Alamosa. More murals are popping up, but there’s a gold rush of prime real estate to let artists and the community reflect what matters to them. For these 12 panels that will sit at Alamosa’s Welcome Center for a long time, it’s just the start.
With Adams State University holding its own mural unveiling the night before, it seems that there’s no slowing down. Nor should there be slowing down. There’s paint and painters who are eager to create art alongside the community.
The paint-by-number way of doing it was catalyzed last year. After someone spray-painted hateful words on the Cole Park pedestrian bridge, Dokson and Maestas thought what better way to turn hate into love. Now, what should be considered a permanent fixture of Cole Park, the bridge welcomes walkers and cyclists with a little bit of color.
“Every day I wake up and I marvel at the beauty of this place,” said Great Sand Dunes superintendent Andrea Compton during Saturday’s unveiling at the Welcome Center.
Along with the 12 murals, local artist Casey McCoy unveiled another permanent fixture at the Welcome Center: A heart with a view of the Sangre de Cristo and the Great Sand Dunes.
Visit Alamosa board president Rob Orindulph thanked the community for turning up and taking part, “Thank you so much Alamosa Community, the USA’s number one small town cultural city. So we got that.”