Their fingers are stained with paint and the bright colors of the rainbow dot their shirts as they work on a multi-panel art project to beautify a space in downtown. It’s a mother-daughter weekend at the Smoky Hill River Festival for Mindy and Haley Allen.

The duo is tackling the 14-panel project with paint guns and what looks like free-flowing creativity. But the artist who has finished major mural projects like the giant grain elevator in Inman, Kansas says it takes a little more planning.

“I have it graphed out and then we make a sketch on the panels before the paint,” Mindy said.

The spray paint seems to know right where to go when guided by their gifted hands – mixing and changing hues until a collection of wild flowers are revealed.

When finished the colorful panels will be transported to downtown Salina to wrap around a trash corral behind Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom on Santa Fe.

You can watch the painting project that is underway near the Pickleball Courts in Oakdale Park with Mindy and Haley. To learn more about the Junction City based artist, search for Mindy’s Murals on Facebook.