Fraser Mountain Mural Festival | Fraser, Colorado
Award-Winning Mural at the 2023 Fraser Mountain Mural Festival
In 2023, artist Banks Compton traveled to Fraser, Colorado, to participate in the Fraser Mountain Mural Festival, an annual public art competition presented by the Town of Fraser and Fraser Public Arts Committee. The 2023 festival took place August 4–6 and brought mural artists together to create original artwork during the event.
Banks' mural depicts a chaotic and humorous finish at the Winter Park Half Marathon, where runners collide with an unexpected alien visitor as they cross the finish line against a backdrop of Colorado mountains.
The finished mural earned Banks both the 1st Place People's Choice Award and the Artists' Choice Award, making the project especially meaningful because it was recognized both by festival visitors and by his fellow participating mural artists.
Event: Fraser Mountain Mural Festival
Location: Fraser, Colorado
Artist: Banks Compton
Year: 2023
Festival Theme: We Come in Peace
Project: Live Mural Festival & Competition
Painting Time: Two Days
Awards: 1st Place People's Choice & Artists' Choice
Project at a Glance
People's Choice & Artists' Choice Awards
At the conclusion of the festival, Banks' mural received two awards: 1st Place People's Choice and Artists' Choice. His professional biography and project archive both document the two 2023 Fraser Mountain Mural Fest honors.
The People's Choice recognition reflected the response from festival visitors, while the Artists' Choice recognition came from the other participating muralists.
Receiving both awards made the project an important milestone in Banks' mural career, recognizing both the public appeal of the finished artwork and the respect of other artists working alongside him at the festival.
We Come in Peace
The theme of the 2023 Fraser Mountain Mural Festival was “We Come in Peace,” playing on Fraser's quirky mountain-town identity and its longstanding “Leaving Planet Earth” imagery.
Banks interpreted the theme by imagining what might happen if an extraterrestrial visitor arrived at exactly the wrong moment.
Instead of depicting a traditional alien encounter, he placed the scene at the finish line of the Winter Park Half Marathon. Runners tumble over one another as an alien unexpectedly appears among them, turning the finish into a chaotic collision of mountain recreation and science fiction.
Small details—including the UFO, race bibs, newspaper, finish-line banner, mountains, and alien imagery—build on the story and reward viewers who spend time looking closely at the mural.
Painting a Mural in Two Days
The Fraser Mountain Mural Festival is designed around live, fast-paced mural painting. Participating artists create their work on 8-foot-by-8-foot primed panels during a limited festival painting period.
Banks completed the mural in approximately two days, painting alongside artists who had traveled to Fraser from across the country and beyond.
Working within such a short timeframe required the entire composition—from the figures and facial expressions to the landscape and smaller storytelling details—to come together quickly while festival visitors watched the artwork develop.
The experience also gave Banks the opportunity to meet and work alongside other muralists, making the recognition from his fellow artists particularly meaningful.
Storytelling Through Humor
Although many of Banks' murals draw directly from local history, wildlife, or community stories, the Fraser mural offered an opportunity to approach storytelling differently.
The exaggerated poses, surprised expressions, alien encounter, and race-day chaos create a scene that can be understood almost instantly while still containing smaller details to discover.
The mural combines narrative painting, humor, movement, and a sense of place, transforming the festival's “We Come in Peace” theme into a story specifically connected to Colorado's mountain culture.
About Banks Compton
Banks Compton is an Alabama-based mural artist and RISD alumnus whose work combines storytelling, community, nature, local culture, and large-scale public art.
His murals can be found throughout Alabama and across the United States, with projects ranging from community and commercial commissions to nationally recognized mural festivals.
Murals Across the United States
Banks travels for mural projects throughout the Southeast and across the United States, creating original artwork for businesses, communities, public spaces, institutions, festivals, and private clients.