
By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Recent Great Bend High School graduate Anna Popp continues to use color for good. The current Kansas Jayhawk has now painted half a dozen murals around Kansas in Great Bend, Pawnee Rock, Claflin, and Atwood. Her latest work was completed over Christmas break at Eisenhower Elementary School in Great Bend. It includes a tribute to Joe Murphy, a former custodian at the school.
"I think that's really special and really cool that they're doing something to memorialize him," Popp said. "It seems like he was a really big part of Eisenhower, so I think that's really special and I'm super happy to be a part of that."

USD 428 invited members of Murphy's family to a mural dedication Wednesday afternoon. Current and past Eisenhower staff members were also present.
The mural features the school mascot, an eagle, created with some of the school's colors. Popp was able to use the previous lettering that had been covered to complete the wall with large block letters.
"My style, I like to stay semi-realistic, but I do enjoy playing with different colors," she said. "This was fun because I got to go with a realistic eagle but more unrealistic colors. I went with that wing-spread position of the eagle because I felt like it fit with the space pretty well."

Most of Popp's murals are done on exterior walls, including a large bison mural in Atwood and a summertime mural at the Claflin pool entrance. She did a smaller indoor mural in Atwood and has to use extra caution with spills and odors on the interior projects.
"Exterior, I feel like has to be a more quality paint because the sun and the weather is going to make that paint fade a lot faster," she said. "I make sure to put this special sealant on my outdoor murals, especially."
The Eisenhower mural was paid for in part by contributions to Murphy's memorial and donations from the Eisenhower Parent-Teacher Organization.

