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» Harvey muralist Chris Wakefield’s artwork

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HARVEY -- When he moved to North Dakota from Alaska with his wife and four daughters, artist Chris Wakefield saw a lot of boring, gray walls in Harvey and knew he had to do something about it.

Wakefield said moving to Harvey was originally supposed to be a starting point so he could travel and do more art shows in the continental United States. The family loved it so much, however, they decided to live in their house in town full-time, which is a converted church.

The one thing Wakefield noticed about living in the state was less emphasis on the arts by North Dakotans than in the previous places he had lived. He said the people who do support the arts do a really great job, but a small population generally means less supporters. Wakefield knew if he wanted to help change things, he would have to take the bull by the horns.

"So I thought,'Well how can I change that? How can I be a part of this city, be a part of this area?'" he said. "I'm very attracted to graffiti art. Well I knew that wasn't going to fly."

However, he felt that more traditional art might get the support of the city and its residents. He talked to Kim Moen, city auditor and Job Development Authority director, and found her to be very supportive of the idea of painting murals on blank walls around town.

"She was like, as long as it's kind of calm and not too controversial and something that's beneficial to the community, we'll pay for the paint," Wakefield said. "And I said I'll donate my time and I'll paint."

Getting started

For the first mural, which was painted last year, Wakefield enlisted the help of fellow Harvey artist Dora Heil. The image of a cowboy was chosen and painted on a wall next to Woody's Service Station. It was called "Jacked Up Morning."

The positive reception of the first mural prompted Wakefield to get permission to do another on his own, this time along the underpass of Alder Avenue, which was completed during the summer this year. It featured the image of an eagle along with an American flag, titled "Freedom Must Be Cultivated."

"They really liked that one. It was patriotic," he said. "And I did it more patriotic because right across on the back side of it is the Veterans Memorial there."

This got the notice of the local Eagles Club, which had him paint a mural on a similar theme -- "Eagles" -- on its building. In exchange for the mural, the Eagles Club agreed to sponsor the Harvey Arts Council Art Show.

For the fourth mural, located on a massive wall across from True Value Hardware, Wakefield chose an Asian-themed koi pond, which featured a downward view looking into the pond to see several fish swimming around. It was titled, simply, "Koi Pond."

"The best comment I got was one person that I know, a friend of mine, he said, 'You know, I'm not a big fan of what you painted, but anything's better than that old concrete wall,'" Wakefield said. "So I think most people are just glad that the town has some color, and has something interesting to look at. I'd probably say that 99 percent of the people just think it's wonderful."