KDSN RADIO News
Muralist finishes giant painting of scenic river in northeast Iowa
Thanks in part to a state grant, a colorful new three-story-tall mural is now complete in downtown Manchester.
Iowa City-based artist Thomas Agran was commissioned to paint the river scene on the south side of Honey Creek Furniture. He says every public project is different, based on several factors including logistics and the condition of the wall.
“One of the things that I’m really interested in doing is making murals in communities that don’t look like all the murals everywhere else,” Agran says. “It’s really important, especially for the identity of smaller towns, that they are not trying to be anybody other than what they are.”
Agran says he went fly-fishing on Spring Branch Creek in the Manchester area almost ten years ago. The experience left a big impression on him and serves as the inspiration for the mural.
“We fished up until dusk and it was just beautiful at the very end of the night as the fog settled in over the stream,” Agran says. “That kind of really beautiful landscape is something that actually a lot of people don’t associate with Iowa. They think a lot about our agricultural heritage and those things are important, but if you don’t really live here, some people don’t know what a beautiful state it is.”
He says people in Manchester were excited to see his progress.
“Sometimes I do murals in tucked away places, and sometimes they are more prominent like this and so there have been lots and lots of people checking out what’s going on, and of course a lot of enthusiasm,” Agran says. “I think it’s really nice for a community as well to be able to watch a mural take shape.”
Agran studied art at Grinnell College and now lives and runs his studio in Iowa City. He’s created murals throughout the state, including in Keokuk last year.
(By Eric Walker, KMCH, Manchester)
