108 feet tall mural on Inman grain elevator now complete

INMAN, Kan. (KSNW) – Mindy Allen of Mindy’s Mural has completed her largest project ever, a mural on a grain elevator in the small town of Inman, Kansas.

“I told my daughter, ‘It feels like the last day of school,'” said Allen. “You know, the last day of school when you’re cleaning out your locker, and you’re cleaning your desk and all that stuff. It’s so exciting.”

Allen’s daughter kept her company during the project.

“I love it when my daughter’s working with me. I mean, she’s not here every day ’cause there are pieces of it that I do on my own, like when there’s a lot of details and stuff like that. And I really miss her on the days that she’s not here,” said Allen. “It’s definitely a dream come true being able to do what I love and being able to have my daughter here with me experiencing it, too.”

Allen started this project nearly five weeks ago after the city decided to celebrate its 150th anniversary of turkey red winter wheat being brought to Kansas. She really wanted to get the mural right for the town. She even set up a donation poll to decide what color to paint the combine.

“I worked really hard on it and wanted to make sure that all of the pieces were just right, you know. That the equipment in the background was the right colors and everything was just right so that the people seeing it and that live here in Inman that, you know, that they don’t have anything that they’re saying ‘Well, I wish that it would’ve been this or that.’ You know that everybody enjoys it,” she said.

Not only does Allen enjoy painting, but she also enjoys seeing a completed project.

“It’s always so great,” she said. “You feel like you’re kind of part of the town for a little while, and it’s so much fun when I get to paint the mural, but I’m always so excited when I’m done and leaving, too, because I know this one’s completed.”

Allen said that she is very proud of the grain elevator mural, and the community’s feedback has been nothing but positive.

“Everybody that I’ve spoken to seems to really love it. People are always driving by and honking and stopping by and saying ‘thank you for doing this’ and that they love it. So, I mean, everything that I’ve heard has been positive. If there’s anything negative, they haven’t told me,” she laughed. “I’m really proud of this one.”

Allen is based in Junction City, but she grew up in a farming family near Scott City. It’s where she will be heading for her next project.

“Next, I’ll be going to my hometown in Scott City, and they have their county fair, and every year they ask me to paint faces for kids. So, it’s not something I always do. I only do it there,” she said. “But I’ll paint the mural at the same time for the fairgrounds when I get there.”

Allen’s whole summer is lined up with projects.

“Then we’ll paint one in Abeline, and then after that, we’ll go – I’ll go to Mobridge, South Dakota, she said. “Then there’s a few more here in Kansas after that.”

You can follow Allen along on her journey through her Facebook page, Mindy’s Murals .

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