BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Matt Sharum is not afraid of heights. He’s a muralist based in Dearborn and has once gone as high as 60-feet to complete one he said. However, as soon as the weather gets warmer in 2019 he’ll be going even higher.
“Believe it or not every time I see it, it looks smaller and smaller to me,” Sharum said while looking at silos that stand close to 200 feet tall.
Sharum said that he’s been commissioned by Project Michigan to create a mural on a grain elevator on Emmet Street that stands close 200 feet tall and is 90 feet wide.
“The total is about 21,700 square feet,” said Sharum who own M.A.S. Murals. “In my research that I found that’ll be the largest mural in Michigan and the largest veterans mural in the country."
In early 2017 he competed against a few other artists for the job, Sharum said. When he submitted his proposal and showed his drafts of what it’ll look like — veterans from different wars throughout American history — he was selected.
“Character there, character there, character there,” Sharum said while pointing to the building. “Big guy there.”
The mural will also feature a family on the side, Blue Angels jets up top and a large American Flag in the background. The whole mural will cover the the entire 21,7000 square feet of the building.
“When you stand next that to that tower, when you’re close to something so big, it’s very awe-inspiring,” Sharum said who also has murals in Iowa and Wisconsin. “It’s a challenge but it’s exciting.”
The project in total will cost $450,000 for supplies, labor and equipment. He and Project Michigan are teaming up to raise the money. As anxious as he is to get started, Sharum and his team can’t do anything until the weather gets warmer he said. Once it does, it’ll take three months to complete.
“As long as we have the right equipment, safety equipment, the right sprayers, we should be able to knock it out,” Sharum said with confidence.
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