MONTICELLO — This summer, MontiArts has been busy beautifying the downtown district through public art pieces, including a school of stained-glass mosaic fish.
Now, in keeping with that river theme, and highlighting Monticello’s beloved bird, the local arts organization has tapped one of its resident artists to help create a colorful swan mural on the back of its Broadway headquarters.
City artist Brian Larson has been working with local students from the Monticello High School Art Club and their leader, MontiArts’ Assistant Director Ben Lundquist, to paint a vibrant stylized swan on the back side of the building at 213 W. Broadway.
“I’m just so grateful to be part of this,” Larson said. “I’m hoping this will inspire other mural ideas for other artists.”
While swans are predominantly white, that wouldn’t have made for the most eye-catching mural, so Larson and his team are going rogue, taking the waterbird and giving it plenty of color through a semi-abstract design.
“The idea is to have a swan on the left and to have it get crazier and more colorful as it moves to the right,” he explained. “It’s moving so fast it’s leaving trails of color behind it.”
The mural was designed to highlight some of the city’s signature features.
“We wanted to make a Monticello theme with the river at the bottom and a rolling hill,” Larson said. “It’s something of a tribute, giving some props to the city.”
Locals may already be familiar with some of Larson’s work, as he helped turn a vacant building downtown into a work of art in 2023, creating a mural on the former Zoo Bar on East Broadway.
Larson led that public art project, drawing together members of the student art club, which has been going strong for four years now, and local creatives to beautify the building’s brick facade.
He also did a nature mural inside the chalet at Bertram Park.
Larson’s murals and others throughout Monticello have started to become the talk of the town, he said. “There’s a lot of interest people have in murals,” Larson said. “It seems like the more murals people see, the more they want.”
Giving the people what they want, Larson’s mural-making skills have been tapped once again, all with the assistance of a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board.
“Central Minnesota Arts is very supportive,” Larson said. “It helps artists focus on their craft and not have to chase other things to get a dollar.”
The new swan mural has been in the planning stages for a while, he said, but work began in earnest three weeks ago.
That is, when weather permits, as all of the recent rain has not been helpful.
Larson first sketched his design on the wall in chalk — which miraculously managed to survive a rainstorm.
“I sketched it with some chalk and then the next day it down-poured, but fortunately the original sketch was preserved,” he said.
Since then, 10 students from the MHS Art Club have been helping out, with about five to six teens showing up each day to paint with Lundquist and Larson.
Local community members have also been joining in the effort, including Gemma Fournier of Big Lake.
“I’m just excited to be a part of this,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun! It’s so creative.”
Once the painting portion is finished, Larson said he will add shading, outlining and more detail work.
His goal is to have the swan mural finished by the Let’s Chalk Festival, which will be held the weekend of Aug. 24-25, right around the corner from MontiArts.
While downtown for the chalkfest, those looking to add more art to their weekend are urged to visit MontiArts, to see the new mural outside and to check out Larson’s solo multimedia show, “Color & Flow,” which is on exhibit inside through September.
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