Following in the footsteps of last year’s Black Lives Matter mural, the town of Frisco is installing another piece of public art on Main Street. The 1,500-square-foot mural currently being painted sits at the intersection of Third Avenue and Main Street inside the Pedestrian Promenade and was created by local artists Andy Moran and Erica Rae Dove.

After rainy weather and supply delays last weekend, work began in earnest Thursday, July 1, and it is scheduled to finish Friday, July 2, with Saturday, July 3, slated as a backup day. Friday will also see public interaction with the piece as the artists make the mural a paint-by-numbers format to allow for easy contribution from community members.

“They wanted it to represent hope and moving forward, so we thought why not simplify it and create it so we can get the community involved,” Dove said. “Instead of it being our mural, it’s going to be everyone’s mural together.”

Preparation for the mural started in March when the town sent out a request for proposals of art “intended to inspire hope and positivity, celebrate the resiliency of the Frisco community and add creative vibrancy to enhance the pedestrian experience.” The deadline was extended in May, and the town received nine submissions from artists hoping to be awarded the $5,000 commission. The Make Frisco art group reviewed and selected Moran and Dove shortly thereafter.

Called “Sun God,” the mountains portray the four seasons as the palette transitions from cooler to warmer colors. The design started similar to a standard wall mural that is seen from only one direction with characters participating in mountain activities, but the team altered the scope so that it could be viewed from all corners of the street. With the sun at the center, the pair says it represents a new dawn that brings hope and happiness after the pandemic.

“The design is predominately (Dove’s) design,” Moran said. “It’s her creative eye that put the design together. It was my structural eye for the colors and wrapping. At the end of this, if you see this and then go down to the Highside (Brewing) mural, you’re going to realize it’s the same artist.”

Despite being neighbors who bounce ideas off each other, this is the first time Moran and Dove have officially collaborated. Moran is originally from Hawaii and grew up skateboarding and snowboarding in Aurora before becoming a Summit resident for the past 15 years. He works at Mountain Top Breck — whose summer camp children are set to lend a hand painting — and does live painting at concerts and other events across the state.

Dove, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, studied nursing at Regis University in Denver and then moved to Breckenridge in 2013. She struggled with her original major and has been making murals since high school, so she switched degrees to pursue a career in art. Her main mediums are acrylics and aerosols, and other examples of her work include Silverthorne’s First Friday rail jam.

“I’ve done the chalk art in Denver, so I’ve painted on the ground, but Andy really engineered the structure of how the design was actually going to work and how we were going to lay it out,” Dove said. “It’s fun to use a new medium.”

The mural is expected to stay on the street until it is covered by the snow.