Kyle Gregg spent a busy Sunday afternoon painting ladybugs, butterflies, spiders and spider webs.

But the 6-year-old Lawrence boy had plenty of help from nearly 50 other youths who gathered to paint a prairie scene mural complete with insects on the north side of the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.

“The spider web was the hardest (to draw),” Kyle said, as the mural neared completion 90 minutes after it was started.

Kyle’s older sister, Krystal Gregg, 10, drew a butterfly and a worm.

“The butterfly is my favorite insect,” she said. “Not many people were drawing worms.”

Arts center officials had invited youths ages 6 and older to paint the 40-foot long prairie mural as part of an art workshop. It was made possible through a Kansas Good to Great grant provided by the Self-Help Network Center for Community Support and Research at Wichita State University, and the Kansas University Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development.

Abbey Berland, 7, gets a lift from her father, Russ Berland, Lawrence, as she paints a bee on the mural. The mural, made possible by a grant from Kansas Good to Great, brought together children and their parents and several mentoring matches from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County.

“I think the kids did an excellent job,” said Jan McElwain, guest artist and an art teacher in the De Soto school district who worked with the youths on the project.

Many of the participants were in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County program and were accompanied by their adult companions. The fee to paint the wall was $26 per pair.

Sarah Randolph, who accompanied Kyle and Krystal, also thought the children did a good job on the mural.

Children gather to paint a mural of a prairie grass scene on the north wall of the Lawrence Arts Center. The painting project Sunday drew about 50 youths ages 6 and older.

“I work nearby and I will get to see it every day as I’m driving to work,” Randolph said.

The youths had a chance to practice their drawings on a nearby sidewalk before painting them on the wall. Then they picked their spots on the wall and painted their insects.

Despite their large numbers, the youths didn’t get impatient with each other, nor did they fight over space on the wall, McElwain said.

“I think this showed that with teamwork you can come up with a better product,” she said.

¢ Lawrence Arts Center