Maddison Brown, 2024 muralist from Billings Senior High

Maddison Brown – Billings Senior High School – WINNER 2024 War of the Walls

Maddie Brown was inspired by old western paintings for her mural design on the Grand Ave. MasterLube store. It includes a horse set against the rimrocks in varying hues of orange and purple. Maddie said that she’s always been drawn to old western paintings and with a bronc as Senior High’s mascot and the iconic Billings rims for a background, it was a good opportunity for her to make an old west painting of her own. She created it on her I-Pad, and it was her first digital design.

“It was really rewarding that it did turn out the way that I wanted,” Maddie said.

The design was the part that took the longest. With the help of her friends from her youth group at American Lutheran Church, the mural was finished quickly.

Maddie plans on attending Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. She plans to pursue a degree in either political science or education and minor in art. Her parents are Scott and Cindy Brown.

Tia Schlosser, 2024 muralist for Billings Central Catholic High

Tia Schlosser – Billings Central Catholic High School

When Tia Schlosser started the design process for the mural on the Downtown MasterLube store she knew she wanted to capture Central High’s Catholic roots. Her design includes a geometric ram, the school’s mascot, as well as the iconic symbols of white lilies, a cross and gold halo. She purposely kept the design simple, hoping it would encourage others to help in the painting process.

“I sent the call out and offered treats,” Tia said. “I had a bunch of people help and it was awesome. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Many of those who helped were in Central High’s art club. Tia has always been interested in art, and plans to attend the University of Montana and study pre-med. She hopes to one day be a doctor. She doesn’t plan to drop art, though.

“I’ll keep doing it as a hobby or for stress relief,” she said.

Tia’s parents are Mike and Nicky Schlosser.

Jaelee Von Schriltz, 2024 muralist from Billings Skyview High

Jaelee Von Schriltz – Billings Skyview High School

When Jaelee Von Schriltz set out to design the 2024 mural for the MasterLube Heights store, she drew inspiration from a design she remembered from several years ago. Her design is an abstract falcon made of various fractured shapes that also spell out “2024.”

She used her I-Pad and relied on photos of falcons to create the design. Then, Jaelee projected it on the wall and got to work.

“I had help laying down the base coat, but did the rest on my own,” she said. “It was fun to work on that large scale.”

Jaelee has had a lifelong passion for art and said her best advice for other young artists is to not be discouraged by other artists’ work. After graduation Jaelee is planning on attending The University of Montana and earning an education degree. She hopes to eventually become an art teacher. Her parents are Dwight and Traci Von Schriltz.

Cialee Arnett, 2024 muralist from Billings West High

Cialee Arnett – Billings West High School

Roaring bears have been a staple for West High’s mural on the King Ave. MasterLube store for years, but in 2024, that changed. Cialee Arnett’s design is more peaceful and depicts a bear on a cliff with a swirling sky and the quote, “Share our similarities and celebrate our differences.”

Cialee said the quote is meaningful to her after she got to know several special education students in her school this past year.

“I wanted to create something that would include them somehow,” she said.

Cialee used a pencil and paper to come up with the design, and after sketching it out on the wall she had help painting it from her father and her art teacher. She said that after they overcame the initial challenge of transferring the design onto the bumpy wall, it was, “smooth going the whole time.”

After graduation, Cialee plans on attending the University of Colorado-Denver to study pre-med. She’s got her sights set on becoming a neurosurgeon. Her parents are Bob and Ramani Arnett.

Alex Hughes, 2024 muralist from Laurel High School

Alex Hughes – Laurel High School

From the time she was young, Alex Hughes has wanted to paint the mural on the Laurel MasterLube store. She had her chance this spring to do just that. Her design depicts a purple and yellow train breaking through a brick wall with “LHS 24” written in a 90s graffiti-style script.

“I wanted to take it in a little bit different direction this year,” Alex said.

She based her design off a digital mural she created inside the high school. That mural was created on a computer and printed on a large adhesive sheet. For the MasterLube mural, Alex started with a rough sketch and moved to a digital format before projecting the image onto the wall for the final stage – painting. Alex said she was surprised how long the painting process took but was pleased with the results.

After graduation Alex is planning on attending Montana State University and studying animal science in hopes of becoming a veterinarian. Her parents are Jason Hughes and Angela Klein-Hughes.