Newest Downtown Addition

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In the past year alone, Downtown Pampa has been getting a makeover. The newest addition to the downtown area is an alluring community-themed mural located at 120 N. Cuyler, better known as the building that houses the Sparrow’s Nest.

The mural, funded by PampaFest, was designed and painted by Michael Longhofer, an Adjunct Professor at West Texas A&M University. With the help of his student and fellow Pampa High School graduate, Kayla Monds, Longhofer has worked many hours to bring his vision to life.

Longhofer, who teaches painting and drawing at WT and Amarillo Art Institute, has been an artist for over 30 years. With a Bachelors of Fine Art from Laguna College of Art and Design and a Masters of Fine Arts from WT, Longhofer has experience as a commercial artist, graphic designer, and art director as well as experience painting murals since 2007.

Longhofer talked about the process that went into designing the mural funded by Pampafest.

“Corey Coronis contacted me and said they were looking for a mural artist. We had a couple of meetings and worked on the mural design for a month,” Longhofer said.

As with every process in art, the final design of the mural varied from Longhofer’s initial design. The original elements that were incorporated into the final design were the cowboy, the train, and the Texas flag.

Longhofer explained how the mural design changed.

“The cowboy was always going to be the focal point,” Longhofer said. “There would have been a cityscape of Pampa somewhere in the mural but it didn’t end up happening. The Texas flag was always laid out perspectively. The train was supposed to spell out Pampa. The coach, trees, and cows got added later.”

Longhofer created the mural design digitally via Photoshop before working on the building. With around 40 hours of work put into the digital design alone, there was much work done surrounding the mural before the paint ever hit its canvas.

Since classes have concluded for the semester, Longhofer has been able to work full-time on the mural (if the rainy weather permits him).

Community residents who see the mural in person can admire every ounce of detail. Longhofer revealed how much time, effort, and planning goes into fundamental aspects of the mural.

“The sky was first because you want to put everything on top of the sky. If you notice, the sky has a fade to it,” Longhofer said. “If you look at most murals, the sky is typically a solid color. I loaded up my sprayer and as I worked my way up, I went with a  darker over it. It’s subtle but noticeable.  I had to raise my scaffolding and go all the way across; it took around 3 days to finish the sky. Adding the fade to it gives the mural dimension and helped it not look flat.”

As well, picking the ideal paints is crucial for any project, especially outside murals.

“I am using a paint called 1Shot paint. It is a lacquer-based paint that is very archival. It will last for years and years,” Longhofer said. “If I had used acrylic paint, it would run down the wall with this rainy weather.”

Though Longhofer has been working on the mural on his own now, he did work collaboratively with one of his students. Monds, who graduated from PHS in 2020, worked on the mural as well.

“Kayla is very good at Realism. I’ve had her as a student in painting, drawing, and special studies. I already knew her and knew she was good,” Longhofer said. “She worked on the train and it took her around two weeks to get all the details completed. Our styles are almost identical. You can’t tell what parts I did or what she did, which works well with making the mural look consistent.”

As of now, the downtown mural is nearly complete, with Longhofer working to finalize the details of the mural.

Longhofer expressed his appreciation for all those who helped make the mural come to life.

“I’d like to thank Kayla, the Board, and PampaFest for hiring me,” Longhofer said. “I’d also like to thank the people of Pampa and the owner of the Sparrow’s Nest for letting me do this.”

PampaFest is on August 19th, get your tickets now at pampafest.com.