By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
HAYS — Hays artist Dennis Schiel in October finished the last of the Brush the Bricks murals in downtown Hays.
The last mural is on the north side of the Midland Marketing building, 219 E. Ninth. It depicts a farmer and horse team along with sunflowers, wheat and milo. The co-op helped choose the farm scene, Schiel said.
The mural is 38 feet at its tallest point by 32 feet. The height of the mural was a challenge, Schiel said. He had to use a lift to paint much of the mural.
The intent was that this piece would be a community mural, but Schiel struggled to find volunteers and ended up doing most of the painting on his own.
Schiel worked on the painting in September and October.
Schiel helped raise $100,000 toward the Brush Bricks mural project, which included six murals:
• The three amigos mural on the S&W building by Schiel
• The Arc mural on the Arc Thrift Store building by Schiel
• The buffalo dance mural on the State Glass Co. building by Matt Miller
• The Hays postcard mural on the side of the Golden Q building by Schiel
• The dragon mural on the side of the Sake2Me building by Matt Miller
• The farmer mural on the side of the Midland Marketing building by Schiel
Schiel said he hopes people will stop in Hays not only to see the murals but also Pete Felten's statues.
Schiel also hopes a local organization will produce a brochure that will highlight the Hays murals so visitors can tour the mural sites. Schiel also painted three other Hays murals that were not part of Brush the Bricks — a bison mural on the side of the Fox Theatre, a patriotic mural on the side of the Hays VFW and a small mural at the Hays Recreation Center.
How long the murals will last is highly dependent on how much sun and weather they receive. Murals on north walls tend to last longer — some as long as decades, Schiel said. However, he also had a mural that had to be touched up after a year.
Schiel is planning another large mural on the grain elevator that sits across from the train depot in downtown Ellis. That mural will depict the Ellis High School mascot, the Railroaders. A train will be breaking through a rock wall with athletes from the different EHS sports riding on the train.
Fundraising is ongoing for this project through the Ellis Foundation.