Boh's Cycle freshens up south wall with new Main Street mural

Moose Javians travelling north on Main Street may have noticed a new mural on the south side of Boh's Cycle and Sporting Goods (821 Main St N).

Owner Brittan Calibaba says the building needed some infrastructure work, so he decided to freshen up its appearance. The south wall previously showcased a mural done in 1993 by Gus Froese. It depicted the change that electric lights made to the community.

"I went ahead, did the infrastructure work and then after doing that, I was kind of looking at the mural and realized it was kind of flaking off a little bit, it needed quite a bit of repairs. Instead of redoing this one, I contacted Carly and wanted to give the place a bit of a fresh look. Me and Carly have worked together on a couple of projects."

Benni Calibaba and her dad Brittan leave their mark on the new mural

Calibaba notes he checked with the Moose Jaw Public Art Committee before replacing the mural. They told him that it had expired in 2007 so he was free to make the change. Froese's family was also notified before the mural was painted over.

Local artist Carly Jaye Smith has been working on the 16 x 40 foot mural at Boh's for the past three weeks. She says, like most of her murals, the project is a collaboration between the client and herself.

"The design really, we're trying to match it to what we did on the front facade as well as the north wall, which is just a fresh, I would call it the 'Boh's vibe'," explained Smith. "It's just a new way for them to market their businesses too. I find a lot of businesses around town have been doing that. Using their exterior walls to put things like murals and eye-catching things to not only provide a piece of artwork for the public, but to advertise their business."

Carly Jaye Smith puts the finishing touches on the mural

She described the mural as a nighttime look with some northern stars, prairie elements and cyclists going on a nighttime cruise.

"The colour palette was definitely a play off the front facade again and the north wall in a way. The way I see it is the north wall is kind of like the daytime setting and the nighttime setting is on the south wall, so it's a little darker but similar colour palette."

There are even some glow-in-the-dark elements that Smith is still trying to perfect.

"I'm trying to create a new piece of history for our city that personally I know has never been done in this city or anywhere that I've explored and appreciated street art. It's been a challenge so far to get it to work the way I want it to but I'm determined."

Smith mentioned another challenge was that the south-facing wall is exposed to a lot of heat. As a result, she had to do most of her painting in the evening or early morning.

Some of the other murals around Moose Jaw painted by Smith include the north wall of the Mad Greek, the South Hill Palliser Library mural (her biggest one to date at 117 feet), and the Al Capone mural on the south side of CJ's Cornerstone Bar & Grill (her first mural). She's also done smaller murals around the city on businesses such as Rosie's on River Street, Dream Drop Shoppe, Elite Hairstyling and Esthetics Training Center, and the Park Hotel.