PELLA, Iowa — A 6,000 square-foot mural is a massive undertaking for just one person, but a blank canvas at Pella's Grandstay Hotel & Suites' swimming pool area needed every square inch covered to capture the town.
That's where Bryan Sink comes in.
Sink, who is originally from Cedar Falls, told Local 5's Chief Photographer Don Schmith that he met the owners of the Grandstay Hotel in Waterloo, where he's done artwork for them before.
And that's what brought him to Pella.
"I love to paint big," Sink said. "My tools are a roller and a one-inch brush. I painted this entire room with these two tools. And I believe that this mural is the largest interior mural out there in Iowa, probably."
Sink reflected on the mural's conception to its completion.
"It's just absurd how real it becomes from a distance, and then when you turn around, you look at what you're actually seeing," he said. "It's just stuff on the wall. Ya know? Isn't that something?"
Sink started working on the mural on Nov. 21. In a Facebook post, he says the project will be the largest commercial mural he's ever painted. Sink has documented his progress on the mural via Facebook.
Sink's Facebook posts document his entire process with videos and images. His commentary notes his challenges and his accomplishments.
On Dec. 1, he finally reached all of his goals by completing the ceiling and everything above the horizon. He wrapped up after 17 hours of painting.
When Local 5 met up with him on Thursday, he was putting some of the final details.
"When you finish a mural it's such a grueling process because every mural has to be done in a certain amount of time," Sink said. "So when you finish the mural, there's an exhilaration of having finished it and also a little bit of withdrawal from the notion of I'm doing this because it is really physical and emotionally engaging."
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