Pastel colors covered the 30-foot-long wall of the building at 10th and Washington on Tuesday morning, and then artist Whitney Hayden picked up a brush to paint the first strokes of a “Welcome to Great Bend” mural.

The Barton Arts Movement (BAM) commissioned Hayden for this large-scale project after seeing her on TikTok. Her canvas is approximately 420 square feet of wall. Her specialty is the “color melt” technique she taught herself more than a decade ago.

“I was living with my mom and she had a tiny wall in her kitchen that she had painted with chalkboard paint and always wanted to do something more with,” Hayden said. “One day I was doodling on it and I created this sort of Jimmy Buffet-style restaurant menu and she was amazed. She thought it was so cool and she thought I could do this for a living. And I thought she was crazy.”

However, several of her friends had newborn babies and she offered to paint their nurseries. They also liked her work, so she posted the results on social media.

“And from that day forward, I was a mural artist,” she said.

She estimates she has 35,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. Hayden also has a studio where she paints custom art on canvas.

Kansas Pro Wash pressure-washed the wall before Hayden got to work. As the mural got underway, the artist took time for a meet-and-greet in front of her canvas.

Fans can follow Hayden on her Murals by Whitney Instagram page or purchase canvas art at her website, whitneyhayden.com.

The latest Great Bend mural is sponsored by Barton Arts Movement with the help of several community partners. BAM is a grassroots volunteer group working to create community pride through public art in Barton County. For more information or to donate to future projects, visit bartonartsmovement.com.