How a mural brought a professional snowboarder turned artist back to Summit County
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Frisco Arts and Culture Council chair Melissa Sherburne.
Mountains and art are the anchors that Pat Milbery says keep him grounded. When an opportunity to combine the two came up in a Rocky Mountain community that holds a lot of significance for him, he knew he had to put his hat in the ring.
Milbery first made his way to Summit County in the early 2000s to pursue a career in professional snowboarding. As he settled into adulthood and continued to pursue both his passions, a series of devastating events came along that flipped his life on its head.
Alongside losing friends to suicide, his mother lost her battle with cancer. Milbery said his mother fostered his love for art, noting that when he was a child she never put limitations on her kids experimenting with art and making messes.
Milbery began to entrench himself in art. He began contemplating what mental health meant to him and decided to make it a driving force behind his work. If spreading positivity through art was going to uplift someone struggling, that’s what he was going to do.
He ended up finding himself commissioned to bring his art across the globe to places including Argentina, Japan and Iceland. He formed partnerships with brands such as Zeal Optics, Smartwool and Icelandic, and began dabbling in design as well.
Then, in spring 2024, he came across a request for proposal, or more of a request for design, for a mural on a tunnel in Frisco. He put in a bid and was one of 131 applicants.
“Summit County is where I really learned to appreciate and love Colorado… I just have a lot of appreciation for that foundation it created for me,” he said, explaining why he put a bid in.
Behind the team putting out the request for an artist to paint the mural was Melissa Sherburne, chair of the recently created Frisco Arts and Culture Council. A former Frisco Town Council member, Sherburne was part of a group looking to increase the presence of art in Frisco.
She said the group had been looking for an opportunity to do a large-scale, statement art piece in town. They ended up looking at the pedestrian/bicycle tunnel in Frisco under Colorado Highway 9 that was completed in 2021 as a part of the Gap Project. Frisco partnered with Summit County government and Colorado Department of Transportation for this project that was meant to provide a safe passage under Highway 9. The arts council decided this was the perfect spot that served as a gateway into town.
Sherburne said the council had some “incredible” submissions and choosing just one was a hard task. Milbery ended up being the pick.
“He’s got a really iconic style, and he also has a really strong connection to the mountains and even Frisco, and ultimately, we thought that his proposal translated the best to the tunnel, because it is very bold and very bright,” Sherburne said.
It’s hard to miss the tunnel going under Highway 9 that’s now been illuminated with color, and that’s the intent. Milbery said he wanted to evoke the friendly, warm aura he has always picked up on while being in Frisco and drew some inspiration from the aspens that turn gold in the area each fall.
“(I want people) to feel a sense of joy, a sense of happiness and, hopefully, a sense of gratitude for seeing the world in a brighter light, he said. “(I hope) they allow their imaginations to wander and kind of dive into the piece and explore it.”
Milbery painted essentially every inch of the tunnel, including the inside, and tapped into dozens of bright colors to do so. He began his work Sept. 28. The project is slated to wrap Sunday, Oct. 6, and ultimately cost the town $36,000.
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