The latest mural sponsored by the Seminole Arts Council is currently under construction, and it’s been attracting a growing amount of attention ever since highly acclaimed artist Rick Sinnett began his work on Monday.

The mural is on the south side of the former Seminole Street Donut shop, located on the southwest corner of Milt Phillips Ave. and Seminole Ave. Sinnett explains that the mural will be approximately 100 ft. wide and 20 ft. tall. Weather permitting, he expects the project to take about two weeks to complete.

When finished, the mural will feature a large Monarch butterfly in the center, with a pattern of white wildflowers along the bottom, and a series of buffalo going down each side.

“To have the opportunity to paint, period, is a blessing,” Sinnett states. “But to get to paint in rural towns across Oklahoma is just beyond describing.”

Sinnett explains that he greatly enjoys getting to meet and make new friends wherever he works. Although he is best known for his murals along the legendary Rt. 66, “The Mother Road of America,” he has made a lot of friends creating murals in this area of the state as well. This includes two murals in Wewoka, one in Bristow and one in Stroud. Other murals across the state, include Tulsa, Norman, Pauls Valley, El Reno and more.

In 2014 Sinnett was featured in an episode of “Gallery” on OETA, which documented him painting the 100’ x128’ mural titled “This Land” on the north side of the Rocktown grain elevator near Bricktown in OKC.

During a break on Monday, Sinnett, who grew up in Mustang and now lives in OKC, stated that his background is actually in fine art printmaking, which he’s been doing for almost 40 years and which he considers to be the predominant portion of his career as an artist.

“I apply the same language that I know in terms of fine art print making to murals,” Sin- nett explains. “In essence, I’m painting these giant murals by coming up with a design, drawing a small picture and then scaleing it to size, and then I make a stencil. I then paint it the same way that I do a fine art print.” Although he is aware of other methods, including using a projector or making a grid, using stencils is what works best for him.

The road from printmaking to murals began after a lady purchased one of Sinnett’s original pen and ink drawing. A couple of years later she called him wanting to have the piece painted as a mural in downtown Tulsa. Because Sinnett didn’t have any experience painting murals at the time, she ended up hiring a professional muralist to do the job.

“It turned out,” Sinnett says diplomatically, “but not quite the way I would have liked for it to turn out. It was nice enough, but I wasn’t satisfied with the way it looked.”

Sinnett didn’t realize the mural happened to be located along Rt. 66 until a Tulsa newspaper did a story about. The story also seemed to suggest Sinnett himself would be painting a series of murals along the legendary highway, even though it wasn’t his work.

Soon after that story came out, another town on Rt. 66, El Reno, contacted him requesting a mural. It was actually his assistant at the time that suggested he try painting it himself the same way he did his art prints. Disappointed in the way the mural in Tulsa had turned out, he agreed to try it, and he was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out.

The next week he and his assistant went to Tulsa and touched up the painting there so that it met his higher expectations.

“And that’s how we got stuck in this rut of painting big, giant mega-murals all over the state,” he says with a laugh. He recalls that his mural work started in 2013, and he continues to learn and grow with each new mural he creates.

He adds that he has also come to expect Mother Nature to get involved at some point in each mural. One time he was swarmed by thousands of Ladybugs that forced him to stop, since he couldn’t paint over them. Another time work was delayed by a swarm of “about a million” honey bees. A similar incident involved red wasps instead of honey bees. While working on a mural on the side of a grain elevator, Sinnett was attacked by four owls.

“I don’t know what’s coming for me on this one,” the artist adds, “but I’m expecting something. Some “gift” from Mother Nature.” He jokes that it’s hard to work a clause covering this expectation into his contracts.

Turning serious once more, Sinnett shared what he’s learned from his experiences. “I’ve always been passionate about Oklahoma - there’s a lot of good things here,” he observes. “A lot of creative talent, and its ‘raw,’ it’s not overdone.”

“And working in these communities, I get to meet the local people - ‘Okies’ and everybody has a profound amount of pride in their community. Even if they claim they can’t stand Oklahoma, once you start to talk with them they will express why it is they have pride in their community, whether it’s their family, what they’re doing, or how embedding they are in the community.

“This has given me a unique perspective on why Oklahoma is so beautiful, because I get to meet these ‘Okies,’ and I’ve got an interesting pulse reading on the state. There’s always neat people wherever I go, and I get to do this in my own state … AND I get to paint what I want to paint! I mean, Holy Cow!! he exclaims.

“So I try my hardest not to take this opportunity for granted,” the artist states. “I’ve been blessed … I’ve been gifted … with the opportunity to do what I love to do. And to get to work with people like Jacqi (Dill, Seminole Arts Council Executive Directors), who is so passionate, and such a visionary. And this is not unique to this town. It is happening everywhere. There’s a “Jacqi” all over. There’s a “Jacqi” in Cashion, and a “Jacqi” in Wewoka, so to speak. I believe there’s a renaissance going on, we’re right in the middle of it, and it’s a neat time to be here.”

“I do the absolute best job I can possibly do for ME,” Sinnett says of his work. “It HAS to be the best quality work that I can personally produce without cutting corners, and I hope that sets a standard for the next guy or gal that comes along, just like my mentors did for me. They set a standard and I try to uphold that standard or go beyond it.”

When completed, this mural will join the growing collection of murals the Seminole Arts Council commissions each year to bring joy and pride to the community. The current collection includes: 2021 - Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Mural by Maddie Sanders of Colorado, located in the alley next to world finance on Oak Street. 2022 - Scissortail Mural by Brandon Bray of Wetumka, OK, located on the back of the Chamber of Commerce on 5th and Evans.

2023 - Call Hope To Rise by Kortny Miller of Ponca City, OK, located on the west side of Farmers Insurance on Broadway.

2024 - A Great Place to Grow by Chris Cargill of Edmond, OK, located on the south wall of All American Pawn on Milt Phillips Avenue.

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