Culture and history saturate the walls of Oklahoma in the form of murals, which tell stories of past and present, representing all who have called Oklahoma home.
Mural painting, one of the oldest forms of art, dates back to the Prehistoric Era. Over time, techniques have evolved, but the intents remain the same: cultural expression and social commentary.
“Murals have a tremendous impact on a community,” says Kris Kanaly, a muralist based in Oklahoma City. “They create unique places that attract visitors and increase property value. They provide communities with identity and offer spaces for expression. Murals build pride, improve quality of life, support citizen retention and even give businesses a reason to invest in the area.”
In Tulsa, Hightail Creative Co., run by Kayley Giacomo and Raygen Treat, handles everything from branding and digital design to mural and sign painting. They agree: murals only offer upsides.
“Murals greatly impact our local communities in a positive way,” Giacomo says. “They increase pedestrian foot traffic, boost business revenue, have huge ROI, engage community, provide a sense of safety, appeal to youth and special groups, revitalize spaces, build cultural identity and attract tourism — all while supporting artists and their craft along the way.”
Every muralist has their own unique process when it comes to creating art. For Hightail, a women-, Indigenous- and queer-owned business, the process begins with an inquiry. The team then gathers information about the site, the mural’s size, the client’s goals and the overall vision.
Kanaly, working under the moniker of “Pyramid Guy,” says that he finds that “all different variables can affect each project.”
After the pre-planning process, the mural completion turnaround is usually quick. For Hightail, the painting process can take a few days to a week, but murals of a larger size or immersive detail could take several weeks. Treat and Giacomo are brush painters, which often takes longer than using spray paint, but they “believe in the longevity and quality of brush application,” Giacomo says.
For Kanaly, the pre-planning sometimes takes no time at all. He says if it’s for a festival, he may just sketch a spontaneous idea onto the wall, while “commission jobs usually involve a sketch for approval, specific requests and mural permits that need to be approved by city officials, which can take weeks to months.”
Kanaly’s Abstract Passages is his largest mural to date — it’s a six-lane underpass leading into Bricktown in Oklahoma City, painted in 2017. It took a month to create. He says one of his favorite murals done by another artist is Dylan Bradway’s 7-story tall flower — one of the largest murals in downtown OKC.
The Plaza District is the go-to place for murals in the state’s capital, says Kanaly.
“Plaza Walls has been our premier display of mural art from artists all over the world,” he shares.
Living on Tulsa Time is one of both Treat and Giacomo’s favorites they’ve created together; you can spot it on the corner of Reconciliation Way and Boston, near Guthrie Green, in downtown Tulsa.
“We completed this piece to celebrate Tulsa and to coincide with Mayfest,” says Giacomo.
Other favorites of the duo are FUNKTIFIED, located in Broken Arrow on Main Street, Zink Lake, a collaborative piece between the River Parks Authority and a bevy of local artists near 18th and Riverside, and Howdy, a custom design for Empire Slice House in Stillwater.
Main image cutline: Kris Kanaly’s signature style is dubbed “Galactiverse,” and explores ultra-flat abstractions where landscapes merge with otherworldly forms. Photo courtesy Kris Kanaly
