Artist Josh Butts adds new section to silo mural

Tulsa artist Josh Butts is putting the finishing touches on his "See Sand Spring" mural this week, and adding a new section to the mural through a private commission.

Begun in September of 2017, the mural was put on delay due to its proximity to power lines and had to be partially redesigned.

The City of Sand Springs commissioned the mural, located on an abandoned Monarch Cement silo, along with another piece in downtown Sand Springs. "The Waiting Station" was completed earlier this year. The two murals totaled $49,500 and were funded through a hotel tax designed to promote tourism. 

Ray and Emilie Tucker, owners of the Riverview RV Park where the silo is located, hired Butts to add large three-dimensional American Bald Eagles to the silo on its eastern side. "We wanted to highlight the eagles which have nested along the river for years," says Emilie Tucker. 

"We just felt like the silo needed something more to finish it out," said Ray Tucker. Originally the mural was supposed to wrap around to that side with the image of Charles Page pulling back a curtain to unveil the city, but the plan was scrapped for safety reasons.

Riverview RV Park is located at 11450 OK-51.