Woman brings color to downtown Center Point

Center Point -- Kandi Tesar didn't go to art school, but that hasn't stopped her from pursuing one of her favorite pass times.

Since graduating high school,the Ryan native has painted four murals on buildings throughout Iowa, and soon, she hopes to take her talents to Cedar Rapids.

Tesar's latest project is patriotic, featuring the statue of liberty, an eagle, and the iconic Iwo Jima image of troops raising an American Flag. She said she frequently enjoys painting patriotic images, as a tribute to the country's service men and women.

"I figure I would never be able to do what the military does, so this is my way of kind of showing my appreciation," Tesar said. "Because this is something I can do."

Tesar expects her mural to be complete by the beginning of August. After that, she said she'll continue the process of negotiating a mural on the side of an insurance building in Cedar Rapids off of First Avenue SW.

In a matter of a little over a month, the 27-year-old has transformed what was previously a stark white exterior wall on the side of Nelson's Cabinets, off Main Street, into a colorful canvas that has become a topic of interest around the town of roughly 2,400.

"I really like it when people do stop, because, you know, I think I'm decent, I'm not going to, by any means, say I'm da Vinci or something like that, but it's nice to have people stop and actually compliment me and feel like I'm actually doing a good job," Tesar said, standing below scaffolding on the side of Nelson's Cabinets Thursday morning.

The project came about after the owner of Neighbor's Insurance Services, Eldon Neighbor, made the suggestion to the owner of Nelson's Cabinets, Don Nelson. Tesar said the project is a form of an advertisement for both businesses that also shows they support the troops. Along with the patriotic images, the mural will include the words "Freedom isn't Free, that's why we support our troops," as well as each company's logo.

Some of Tesar's other murals include a jungle-themed mural in Ryan, a patriotic backdrop to the Veteran's Memorial in Ryan and a patriotic mural on the side of Neighbor Insurance Services in Hiawatha. She said she also enjoys doing smaller paintings and other types of artwork, but tends to stick to painting because that type of work is in higher demand.

So far, Nelson,who's working on updating the rest of the building, said he's happy with how the mural looks.

"It's neat to watch the way she does it, when she gets started it doesn't look like much, since she goes layer over layer over layer, and now its really taking shape," Nelson said. "It looks wonderful, really cool, I'm more excited to see it when it's completed."