From trouble-teen graffiti artist to painting the city’s largest mural, Sioux Falls artist Walter Portz’s latest work is on display.
Portz completed the mural in just 13 days covering a city-owned seven-story parking garage on East 10th Street.
This was in less than half the time originally expected to complete the mural.
![Downtown Sioux Falls Mural](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3c21762/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3264x2448+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbc%2F7d%2F7268318d4a6883c04fcb30083e5c%2Fmicrosoftteams-image-31.png)
Portz said what surprised him the most was not the undertaking of such a large project, but the support he received from the local community.
“Strangers and old men that would come and just visit for a little while, and friend's parents bringing me dinner, or, you know, those kinds of things were really fun. It was just great to have the community out. I mean, I bet 200 people stop by and say 'hi' in one way or another,” said Portz.
Portz said he used 18 five-gallon buckets in total to complete the project.
He said his inspiration for painting murals comes from a life of appreciating different forms of art.
“In the early 90s, I did a little bit of graffiti and I got into some trouble for that, so public art was not in my wheelhouse for quite a number of years," said Portz. "Now that that is a more acceptable visual, you know, art presentation, it’s something I have embraced and tried to figure out ways to incorporate digital, photography and street art to create murals.”
![Downtown Sioux Falls Mural](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9fc547c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3264x2448+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F06%2F7d%2F07cf10b140dead9effeb82179f7d%2Fmicrosoftteams-image-32.png)
The mural now covers what used to be a massive gray wall of concrete near the core of downtown. The city hopes the new mural will attract the right developer for the space.