A new mural has been completed on the side of Morchella Market & Cafe as the newly revitalized building continues to add more character to Cranbrook’s downtown core.
The mural, painted by Payton Hansen, covers the eastern wall of the building, depicting two separate scenes.
Hansen, 14, said the opportunity to do the mural came up through a friend whose parents — Mike and Corinna Robinson — own the building.
Inspired by another artist he follows on Youtube, Hansen went to work, sketching out some ideas on paper before getting approval to take it to exterior wall of cinder block and stucco.
“So I draw the whole thing first, usually I sketch it out, then add the colours,” said Hansen, “and for the colours, I didn’t really have a plan in mind. I just kind of add the colours and if it looks good, I’ll keep it.
“The only thing I try to do with colours is not have the same colour touch that much.”
Hansen also jumped on the opportunity to take on another section of the wall, which was offered up later in the project.
While the final product stayed mostly true to his sketches, there were a few changes mid-project.
“There were a couple times where I improvised,” Hansen said. “I moved a couple things around, like on the wave, and I added a few things.”
From concept to completion, the entire project took approximately 170 hours, with all kinds of direct and indirect help from his parents and sister, cousins, grandparents and friends.