Making Hayden Pop
06/12/2024 02:29PM ● By Lyla Baker
(Photo: Sophie Picking’s mural decorates the outside of the home decor store, Roost, in Hayden. Courtesy of One Reel Media House.)
Featured in Steamboat Magazine Home Edition 2024.
Steamboat Springs, CO - Standing outside of the home decor store, Roost, in Hayden, Colorado, one can’t help but smile at the colorful pooches indulging in a scoop of ice cream, immortalized in colorful paint strokes and pops of pastel.
Local teenager Sophie Picking was commissioned to paint the mural by Charlotte Wuestewald and Mandy Leonhardt, the owners of Roost, Yampa Valley Design and Scoop Dog Ice Cream.
“We hoped to bring life to Hayden and have people notice that things were happening here,” Charlotte says. “I had seen some work Sophie had done, and I immediately loved her energy and style. Mandy and I thought it would be a great opportunity for her. We asked and she was up for the challenge.”
Charlotte wanted something artsy that would also highlight her businesses. So, with cleverly-placed strokes of paint, Sophie created the pups for Scoop Dog, sprawled across a cheery yellow couch to represent the home design businesses.
Sophie has been interested in art since she was young, and other than art classes she has taken at Steamboat Springs High School, is self-taught. Now a senior in AP Studio Art, she is focusing on building her portfolio and honing her art skills even further. Despite her experience, however, she says this mural was by far one of her biggest projects.
“I painted a mural at my own house a couple of years ago, but this was definitely a much larger process,” she explains. “I had to prep the wall, remove all the cobwebs and dirt, and prime it. I had made the sketch digitally on my iPad, then took my projector and projected the sketch onto the wall and traced it, just to make sure everything was proportional. Then I started painting.”
The mural took Sophie the entirety of her 2023 summer break, from mid-June to late August. However, the time commitment wasn’t the only challenge – she also had to adapt to a canvas she had ever encountered before.
“It was a new experience to work on a 20-by-10 foot wall, but adding to the difficulty was that it was painted metal and not a flat surface,” Sophie explains. “It’s hard enough painting a neat and realistic image without the added texture as a variable.”
But a great artist can adapt, and Sophie was able to overcome the challenge and produce a true work of art – not only for herself and Charlotte, but for the community as a whole. Now passersby can pause and admire the pops of color and joy that Sophie has created.
“We get lots of great feedback from the community and I often see people stopped at the mural taking photos. Hopefully it relays a sense of whimsy and fun,” Charlotte says.
“The thing I most enjoy about this mural is seeing people walk by and become curious. They would ask me questions, and I loved talking to them about it and showing them how I was painting it – the whole community became involved,” Sophie reflects. “I love how what was once my interest became the interest of so many others.”
Featured in Steamboat Magazine Home Edition 2024.
Steamboat Springs, CO - Standing outside of the home decor store, Roost, in Hayden, Colorado, one can’t help but smile at the colorful pooches indulging in a scoop of ice cream, immortalized in colorful paint strokes and pops of pastel.
Local teenager Sophie Picking was commissioned to paint the mural by Charlotte Wuestewald and Mandy Leonhardt, the owners of Roost, Yampa Valley Design and Scoop Dog Ice Cream.
“We hoped to bring life to Hayden and have people notice that things were happening here,” Charlotte says. “I had seen some work Sophie had done, and I immediately loved her energy and style. Mandy and I thought it would be a great opportunity for her. We asked and she was up for the challenge.”
Charlotte wanted something artsy that would also highlight her businesses. So, with cleverly-placed strokes of paint, Sophie created the pups for Scoop Dog, sprawled across a cheery yellow couch to represent the home design businesses.
Sophie has been interested in art since she was young, and other than art classes she has taken at Steamboat Springs High School, is self-taught. Now a senior in AP Studio Art, she is focusing on building her portfolio and honing her art skills even further. Despite her experience, however, she says this mural was by far one of her biggest projects.
“I painted a mural at my own house a couple of years ago, but this was definitely a much larger process,” she explains. “I had to prep the wall, remove all the cobwebs and dirt, and prime it. I had made the sketch digitally on my iPad, then took my projector and projected the sketch onto the wall and traced it, just to make sure everything was proportional. Then I started painting.”
The mural took Sophie the entirety of her 2023 summer break, from mid-June to late August. However, the time commitment wasn’t the only challenge – she also had to adapt to a canvas she had ever encountered before.
“It was a new experience to work on a 20-by-10 foot wall, but adding to the difficulty was that it was painted metal and not a flat surface,” Sophie explains. “It’s hard enough painting a neat and realistic image without the added texture as a variable.”
But a great artist can adapt, and Sophie was able to overcome the challenge and produce a true work of art – not only for herself and Charlotte, but for the community as a whole. Now passersby can pause and admire the pops of color and joy that Sophie has created.
“We get lots of great feedback from the community and I often see people stopped at the mural taking photos. Hopefully it relays a sense of whimsy and fun,” Charlotte says.
“The thing I most enjoy about this mural is seeing people walk by and become curious. They would ask me questions, and I loved talking to them about it and showing them how I was painting it – the whole community became involved,” Sophie reflects. “I love how what was once my interest became the interest of so many others.”