Wing mural project is flying along

Several stories above the ground, muralist Kyle Holdridge has been working to bring a city icon to life.

Holdridge has been preparing and painting a wing mural on the silos near Levee Park in Red Wing all week, and project organizers said they hope the mural will be completed over the weekend.

“It’s gone real smooth so far,” Holdridge said.

But being so far off the ground can be a bit shaky.

“It’s hard to stay steady,” he said. It is windy up on the lift he’s using to get close to the wing, and sometimes it is difficult to keep a stable hand when painting, he said.

Holdridge is used to this type of project – he has done other work including the Kirby Puckett mural at Target Field — but this is the highest he’s been, he said.

At its peak, the wing is about 80 feet off the ground, Red Wing In Bloom member Art Kenyon said. It also measures about 50 feet wide.

Instead of painting on the outline, Holdridge used a power washer to “draw” the wing design on the silos. Then he has been working to fill in the black, white, red and gray paint.

Holdridge also used a projector to outline the wing design.

Kenyon said the project takes almost 20 gallons of paint. It’s the same type as is used on boats, RWIB member Donna Dummer said, so it should weather well.

RWIB has worked to get the project off the ground, stemming from member John Anderes’ idea.

“He’s definitely the man behind the mural,” RWIB member Terry Yockey said.

It has taken creative planning and fundraising efforts to get the project moving forward, members said, but it is finally becoming a reality.

“It’s a great board,” Kenyon said of RWIB. “They’re not afraid to work.”

“But I’m not going that high,” Dummer joked, looking up at the mural.

So they found Holdridge to do the painting. And alongside money from the Red Wing Area Fund, community members have pitched in to make the project possible as well.

A number of area businesses donated or helped with materials for the project, including Holdridge’s harness, hoses to power wash the silo, paint and more.

“It’s kind of been a community project,” Kenyon said.

The wing also is the Red Wing Shoe’s logo, the one community members selected from three options for the wing.

Out of the total of 1,607 votes for a favorite wing, the Red Wing Shoe logo came in first over two other designs with 46 percent, or 774 votes.

Board members hope the wing mural will extend beyond the community, visible to those boating, driving on the bridge to Wisconsin and more.

“We’re hoping it will be seen by planes, trains and automobiles,” Dummer said.

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