The Denver Nuggets mural on Colfax catches the attention of the Nuggets Nation

DENVER — A local artist pays tribute to the Denver Nuggets as they prepare to compete in the NBA Finals for the first time in team history.

“Very colourful, very vibrant, just very realistic,” is how Kerry Merrell describes the mural, which is located next to 7/11 in Colfax, near High Street and Race Street.

Merrell stopped by early Monday to take a photo after learning about the mural on social media.

“It’s wonderfully done. It’s fun to see the city come alive with the sport now,” Merrell said.

“I love it. Just the colors, the aesthetic,” said Jon Shah, who stopped by with his wife and two children to snap a photo in front of the artwork. “It feels really Colorado–the sun, the Nuggets colors. I really think it’s a wonderful way to celebrate the run we’re doing here.”

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“We’re a sports city and you know, we’re winning. I think a lot of people really took that to heart,” said Thomas “Detour” Evans, the mural’s creator.

Detour says the Nuggets’ first-ever finals appearance was the inspiration for his latest masterpiece, which stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.

“I would say my work is really expressive, lots of color, lots of bold colors,” Detour said.

The artist said he didn’t expect his mural to attract so much attention.

“I usually just paint and don’t think about it at all, because painting is like my therapy,” he said.

“It’s one of his great acts that he’s been doing all over town trying to bring positivity and color to the city,” said Merrell, who is a fan of Detour’s artwork and has been taking his projects to the social for a while media tracked.

“It’s cool to see the whole town committing to something. This has always been sport for a community. And it’s really exciting to see that not only in the games themselves, but also in this mural,” added Shah.

Like the nuggets, Detour says his work isn’t done yet.

“As the series progresses, I’ll be adding some more elements that just pop off the wall for me when I’m watching the games, and also adding those to the mural to make it look more like a mural. We’re working on a mural while.” we kind of celebrate, you know they won the championship. So add a trophy and a lettering even after the win,” he said.

Detour hopes the mural will remain in place for at least another year.

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