Laramie Artist Creates Massive 60-Foot Mural in…

CASPER — Creating a massive 60-by-22-foot outdoor mural in historic downtown Oil City takes a lot of planning, imagination and a lot of time on a long ladder.

But Laramie artist Dan Toro has no problem with that.

His box of high-quality aerosol paints kept running out this past week as he worked on a long-term artistic tribute to the volunteers who made Casper Mountain’s Hogadon Basin Ski Area what it is today.

“It’s going to be an old pair of skis with a scarf wrapped around them and old poles,” Toro said, describing the work nearly a week into the project. “And inside the scarf is the hill, with a guy skiing down it, something like that. It’s just an outdoor skiing-themed mural for Casper Mountain.”

Perhaps the winter scene and subject matter helped the artist stay cool in temperatures above 90 degrees.

The artwork represents the newest commissioned mural from the Casper Mural Project. Group treasurer Beth Andress said the mural is meant to honor the community volunteer efforts that led to the creation and operation of the mountain’s ski resort.

“It’s been years and years of regular people making things that people can enjoy,” Andress said. “It’s the story of our community.”

Andress said her group put out a “call for walls” last year, and the owner of the 42 Degrees North store at 128 Center St. requested a mural. The store’s north wall was chosen because of this year’s theme.

The mural group asked artists to submit concepts, and Toro’s was selected. Andress said the building’s owner provided input into the process of choosing the mural.

Full-time wall painter

Toro, 42, says he started painting murals full-time about six or seven years ago.

After graduating from the University of Wyoming with an art degree, he built houses for a while. While pursuing his art, he took a job as a bus driver to have time to paint and draw.

“Then our community started a mural project and it just clicked,” he said. “I’m so detail-oriented and this doesn’t let me get into detail. I really like it; it changes the way I think.”

Since then, Laramie has become a thriving mural district, with more than 20 now marking buildings in the historic downtown area.

When he quit his job as a bus driver to hit the road, Toro began painting murals around the state and the country. He quickly learned from mural projects in Indiana and Salt Lake City, where he wasn’t making any money, that the business side of estimating his costs required more thought.

In addition to murals in Laramie, he said he has painted walls in Jackson, Green River, Rock River, Cheyenne, Cody, Saratoga and Buffalo. His next stop will be a small town in Nebraska.

When he got to Casper, Toro found the space available was a little bigger than he originally thought. But the artist said it wasn’t a problem. He centered the art more and made the edges different; that’s all part of being a muralist.

Toro uses paint rollers to apply background colors and has a long stick with a marker to draw on the stone. Once the background paint is applied, he grabs one of his paint cans, specifically made for art such as murals.

“It’s really low pressure. It’s not like the stuff you buy at Home Depot,” he said. “So it’s slower, so you can just draw with it.”

Color lines

To do the edges of the work, Toro uses a piece of cardboard to block the paint or simply goes back over his edge with the background color. The bigger the project, the “blurtier you can be.”

He said that small details don’t matter when it comes to a 60-foot space.

As a muralist, he also has to be physically fit to keep going up and down the ladder to paint, but also to check his work. He carries a small piece of painted paper with the part of the mural that appeals to him at that moment. Choosing the right color can be tricky.

“It’s a challenge because you draw it on paper and it looks great, but here everything is different. You have to adjust your blue tones here and there to make it look better,” he said.

While some projects require a lift, Casper’s project is within reach of a ladder.

Another part of being a muralist is being a conversationalist. He finds in almost every city he paints, people want to come up to him and talk to him — and he’s fine with that, but “you don’t get much done.”

“At home, you can work because you can set your hours. But on a mural, you can’t do that because you’re talking all day,” he said. “And that’s just the way it is. The community can see it and they want to know what’s going on. This is your city, I’ll talk to you all day.”

The heat surrounding the Casper project is a problem, but Toro is trying to get started as quickly as possible.

He said he usually sleeps in his truck. He drove up the mountain he paints and thought it would be a great place to spend the night.

Competitive performances

The mural business is competitive as Toro seeks to get out of state. He has submitted projects in Denver that received a rejection letter saying there were more than 400 applicants.

In the winter, the artist takes time to create oil paintings, but he feels his niche is now clear.

“I’m into murals now, I’ve moved on to spray painting,” Toro said. “I do it enough that I just think about it.”

Andress said Toro’s work is funded by private donations and fundraising.

The Casper Mural Project began in 2019 with the Rev. James Reeb Memorial Mural at 225 St. David St. Reeb was originally from Casper and was murdered by segregationists in Selma, Alabama in 1965.

“Our goal is to create a mural every year,” Andress said.

While murals can cost between $10,000 and $70,000, the murals in Casper were created with budgets ranging from $10,000 to $15,000.

Dale Killingbeck can be reached at [email protected].