You’ve probably noticed more and more murals popping up around Denver. Maybe you’ve see the painting on the wall and fins of the building at 28th and Larimer? It is a different picture depending on which way you look at it and it is truly impressive. The artist, Jeremy Burns, created a new mural similar to that one called ‘Against All Odds’ located on the side of the Pepsi Bottling Plant at 38th and Brighton, and for good reason. Burns began this enormous mural project during the week-long Crush Walls event in the RiNo Arts District. Though he had completed a similar style mural in the past, he was unaware of the many hurdles in front of him. When working on a project of this size, any hiccup in the flow can disrupt a lot of moving parts.
As the city was laying cones to block a lane on the heavily trafficked 38th avenue so that he could run a projector unobstructed, Jeremy was standing outside the bar across the street, watching and sweating. His lift (aka cherry picker) hadn’t shown up yet, so he was not going to be able to start as planned. This was just one of the many obstacles that he faced to complete this mural. The first coat of paint didn’t stick, the weather didn’t cooperate, his lift was picked up before he was finished, but despite this long list of challenges he was able to create something truly amazing.
I was able to join Burns on the night he set up the projector for the second half of the mural. Sitting in a lawn chair on the side of the road surrounded by cones I watched as he and Jonathan rode up and down on the lift touching every fin on the humongous wall, marking the contours of the ‘running man’ with a can of spray paint. It was almost sunrise when they finished up, and I began to see some optimism from Burns, the light at the end of the tunnel was finally visible.
It was Against All Odds that it was completed, but now it will live on for many years to come and bring vibrancy to an otherwise undesirable view as you exit the highway. This mural and the one at 28th and Larimer st. are some of my favorite pieces of street art in Denver, definitely worth checking out, both sides.
