LJWorld.com

Photo by Nick Krug Lawrence Journal-World

Brushes and paints are gathered on the roof of Reynolds’ car as she works on the globe portion of her mural. Reynolds said she was hoping to finish within a few weeks.

A Lawrence artist is bringing some beauty to an area of East Lawrence lined with warehouses and old cars waiting to be repaired.

“All of my customers just love it. They think it’s cool,” Cliff Evans said of the new mural gracing the side of his auto repair shop near 22nd Street and Haskell Avenue.

The normally drab light green walls of the business are gone. In their place is a mural created by 25-year-old Heather Reynolds.

She’s been working on the project, which she calls “Evolution of Change,” since Memorial Day.

“I think it’s so far my most enjoyable mural that I’ve painted yet,” Reynolds said. “When I paint it, I really feel like I’m painting something that will help the planet.”

Reynolds, who has painted murals in Roanoke, Va., and her hometown of Boca Raton, Fla., said she hopes this mural with an environmental message will be more than just something pretty to look at. She hopes it will make people think.

“I would like to use the mural as a way to open up topics with the community on how we can all start to do our part toward a healthier future,” Reynolds wrote in her proposal to the city seeking approval for the project.

Using the Flint Hills as a backdrop, the mural portrays the evolution of vehicles, from the horse-drawn carriages to the Model T, ending with a Toyota Prius. Wind turbines dot the horizon and a giant globe rests in a pair of hands emphasizing her message that the future of the world is in our hands.

“We all want to breathe clean air and eat clean food and drink clean water and have clean energy,” she said. “That’s the idea.”

The giant artwork can be seen by motorists heading east on 23rd Street. Reynolds said she’s putting the finishing touches on the piece, which she expected to be complete after spending a few more weekends working on the project.

“It’s going well,” Reynolds said. “It’s a little slower than my past murals because I have a 17-month-old, so I’m a full-time mom at the same time.”

She said she hoped to get a group of artists together to create a similar mural in downtown Lawrence. She’s already eyeing a couple of walls to serve as her next canvas.

“I just hope all of us are inspired to do what we can,” she said. “We may not be politicians or be able to go out and make these big changes, but we can all do our part one way or another. If we get creative and have a little fun with it, we can make big impacts in the world.”