Meet the 2023 Artists
Billings Central Catholic High School Muralist Olivia Tourtlotte
Olivia Tourtlotte – Billings Central Catholic High School – 2023 War of the Walls Winner
Central High senior Olivia Tourtlotte is the artist behind the design on the Downtown Masterlube store. The striking scene includes an abstract ram, the school’s mascot, and a cross in the background.
“I went through so many drafts and finally settled on a black background and decided to keep it simple and use colors that popped,” Olivia said.
Her design was chosen by popular vote among the senior class at Central High.
“I’ve always loved art and I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to my school and do what I love at the same time,” Olivia said.
Olivia had help from a team of fellow students. Their greatest challenge was getting the projector to work and laying out her design on a such a grand scale. As they painted, those in the group grew to be closer friends, Olivia said.
“It’s a highlight of my year for sure,” she added.
Olivia is entirely self-taught and enjoys painting. She’s planning to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder and study biochemistry with a long-term dream of medical or dental career. Her parents are Shanna and Matthew Tourtlotte.
Billings Central Catholic High School Muralist Olivia Tourtlotte
Olivia Tourtlotte – Billings Central Catholic High School – 2023 War of the Walls Winner
Central High senior Olivia Tourtlotte is the artist behind the design on the Downtown Masterlube store. The striking scene includes an abstract ram, the school’s mascot, and a cross in the background.
“I went through so many drafts and finally settled on a black background and decided to keep it simple and use colors that popped,” Olivia said.
Her design was chosen by popular vote among the senior class at Central High.
“I’ve always loved art and I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to my school and do what I love at the same time,” Olivia said.
Olivia had help from a team of fellow students. Their greatest challenge was getting the projector to work and laying out her design on a such a grand scale. As they painted, those in the group grew to be closer friends, Olivia said.
“It’s a highlight of my year for sure,” she added.
Olivia is entirely self-taught and enjoys painting. She’s planning to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder and study biochemistry with a long-term dream of medical or dental career. Her parents are Shanna and Matthew Tourtlotte.
Billings Senior High Muralist Vaughn Sheridan
Vaughn Sheridan – Billings Senior High School
When Billings Senior High senior Vaughn Sheridan set out to design the mural on the Grand Ave. MasterLube location, he took his creative, comic book style and put it to use creating a zombie apocalypse scene with stereotypical students as zombies and a zombie bronc in the background.
“The previous designs all seemed to look the same, so I wanted to come up with my own idea,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn has been interested in art since he was 5 years old and has developed his own distinctive drawing style. Some days he puts pen to paper and others he works digitally. Taking the design from his tablet to the wall was one of the more challenging parts of the process.
“This is one of the most ambitious art projects I’ve ever taken on,” Vaughn said.
He had help from friends and family, and Vaughn’s father, who had always encouraged Vaughn’s creative work, was particularly supportive. Vaughn’s painting teacher, Mr. Harman, encouraged him to submit a design.
Art will always play a role in Vaughn’s life, but he’s decided to pursue a degree in speech therapy. He’s had a speech impediment since he was young and wants to help children improve their speech.
“I’m going to try to incorporate art wherever I can,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn’s parents are Jessica and Sean Sheridan.
Billings Senior High Muralist Vaughn Sheridan
Vaughn Sheridan – Billings Senior High School
When Billings Senior High senior Vaughn Sheridan set out to design the mural on the Grand Ave. MasterLube location, he took his creative, comic book style and put it to use creating a zombie apocalypse scene with stereotypical students as zombies and a zombie bronc in the background.
“The previous designs all seemed to look the same, so I wanted to come up with my own idea,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn has been interested in art since he was 5 years old and has developed his own distinctive drawing style. Some days he puts pen to paper and others he works digitally. Taking the design from his tablet to the wall was one of the more challenging parts of the process.
“This is one of the most ambitious art projects I’ve ever taken on,” Vaughn said.
He had help from friends and family, and Vaughn’s father, who had always encouraged Vaughn’s creative work, was particularly supportive. Vaughn’s painting teacher, Mr. Harman, encouraged him to submit a design.
Art will always play a role in Vaughn’s life, but he’s decided to pursue a degree in speech therapy. He’s had a speech impediment since he was young and wants to help children improve their speech.
“I’m going to try to incorporate art wherever I can,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn’s parents are Jessica and Sean Sheridan.
Billings West High muralists 2023 Melanie Irwin and Jasmyn Zimmerman
Melanie Irwin and Jasmyn Zimmerman – Billings West High School
West High’s design was a collaboration between Melanie Irwin and Jasmyn Zimmerman. The two seniors worked together on a mural at Ben Steele Middle School and decided then that they wanted to do the MasterLube mural on King Avenue when they were seniors.
Their design depicts a bear breaking through the wall and appearing to roar, “BWHS 2023.”
“We wanted it to be simple. We wanted it to be bold, and we wanted the bear to look fierce,” Melanie said.
Jasmyn and Melanie have been friends since the sixth grade and have collaborated on several art projects together over the years.
“Jasmyn and I work pretty well together, and it was really fun to be able to work with her on something on this scale,” Melanie said.
Melanie has been drawing and painting since she was young and said she would follow animals around and find birds in her backyard to draw. She’s taken that love for wildlife art and has created a series of greeting cards from paintings she’s done.
Jasmyn has had an interest in art for as long as she can remember. Over the years she’s taken art classes and attended art camps. Her artistic style developed as she grew. Her favorite subjects are people and animals.
Melanie said she will never forget the positive comments they received from people passing by as they painted and from MasterLube employees.
“It was a lot of fun to do, but it was a little stressful too with deadlines and weather and school and sports,” Jasmyn said.
Melanie plans to attend Montana State University-Bozeman and study biochemistry. She’s planning on continuing to pursue art in her free time. Her parents are Jill and Jim Irwin.
Jasmyn is going to Pacific University where she will study biochemistry as well. She’s planning on minoring in art. Her parents are Jolana and Jason Zimmerman.
Billings West High muralists 2023 Melanie Irwin and Jasmyn Zimmerman
Melanie Irwin and Jasmyn Zimmerman – Billings West High School
West High’s design was a collaboration between Melanie Irwin and Jasmyn Zimmerman. The two seniors worked together on a mural at Ben Steele Middle School and decided then that they wanted to do the MasterLube mural on King Avenue when they were seniors.
Their design depicts a bear breaking through the wall and appearing to roar, “BWHS 2023.”
“We wanted it to be simple. We wanted it to be bold, and we wanted the bear to look fierce,” Melanie said.
Jasmyn and Melanie have been friends since the sixth grade and have collaborated on several art projects together over the years.
“Jasmyn and I work pretty well together, and it was really fun to be able to work with her on something on this scale,” Melanie said.
Melanie has been drawing and painting since she was young and said she would follow animals around and find birds in her backyard to draw. She’s taken that love for wildlife art and has created a series of greeting cards from paintings she’s done.
Jasmyn has had an interest in art for as long as she can remember. Over the years she’s taken art classes and attended art camps. Her artistic style developed as she grew. Her favorite subjects are people and animals.
Melanie said she will never forget the positive comments they received from people passing by as they painted and from MasterLube employees.
“It was a lot of fun to do, but it was a little stressful too with deadlines and weather and school and sports,” Jasmyn said.
Melanie plans to attend Montana State University-Bozeman and study biochemistry. She’s planning on continuing to pursue art in her free time. Her parents are Jill and Jim Irwin.
Jasmyn is going to Pacific University where she will study biochemistry as well. She’s planning on minoring in art. Her parents are Jolana and Jason Zimmerman.
Skyview High School muralists Sam Stahl and Bryce Greeno
Sam Stahl & Bryce Greeno – Billings Skyview High School
Samantha Stahl was inspired last year as she watched the Skyview mural go up on the Heights MasterLube store. She decided then that she was going to enter the contest this year, and to her surprise, she won!
The design, a realistic depiction of a falcon taking flight from a rock with the text, “Fly High Falcons,” is based on a poster Samantha created earlier in the year for a schoolwide art show.
“It was tough,” she said. “The challenge was to make it as realistic as possible, but blending the colors and making straight lines was hard on the rough surface of the wall.”
Samantha worked around her school and work schedule, painting about four hours a day. It took nine days, with lots of climbing up and down a ladder and scaffolding. She wasn’t alone, however. She had help from Bryce Greeno who helped cover last year’s mural and paint the background. He also painted most of the lettering.
“That wall does not look that big when you’re driving down the road, but when you’re up on it, it’s a whole heck of a lot bigger than you think,” Bryce said.
Bryce’s mother helped too by running errands and picking up more paint when needed. Samantha and Bryce had lots of encouragement along the way as well.
“We had so many people coming up to talk to us while we were painting and telling us that they liked it,” she said. “That’s what I’ll always remember.”
Samantha has always had an interest in art and has always been attracted to realism. She’s just starting to dabble in wildlife art, and her favorite medium is colored pencil. She likes to use them to draw realistic fruits and vegetables.
She’s hoping to take a few college-level art courses while attending Montana State University-Billings in the fall. She plans to major in accounting and also plans to continue to work for an area ranch while in college. Samantha’s parents are Beth and Corey Stahl.
After graduation, Bryce is planning on joining the workforce as a diesel technician. His parents are Heather and Casey Greeno.
Skyview High School muralists Sam Stahl and Bryce Greeno
Sam Stahl & Bryce Greeno – Billings Skyview High School
Samantha Stahl was inspired last year as she watched the Skyview mural go up on the Heights MasterLube store. She decided then that she was going to enter the contest this year, and to her surprise, she won!
The design, a realistic depiction of a falcon taking flight from a rock with the text, “Fly High Falcons,” is based on a poster Samantha created earlier in the year for a schoolwide art show.
“It was tough,” she said. “The challenge was to make it as realistic as possible, but blending the colors and making straight lines was hard on the rough surface of the wall.”
Samantha worked around her school and work schedule, painting about four hours a day. It took nine days, with lots of climbing up and down a ladder and scaffolding. She wasn’t alone, however. She had help from Bryce Greeno who helped cover last year’s mural and paint the background. He also painted most of the lettering.
“That wall does not look that big when you’re driving down the road, but when you’re up on it, it’s a whole heck of a lot bigger than you think,” Bryce said.
Bryce’s mother helped too by running errands and picking up more paint when needed. Samantha and Bryce had lots of encouragement along the way as well.
“We had so many people coming up to talk to us while we were painting and telling us that they liked it,” she said. “That’s what I’ll always remember.”
Samantha has always had an interest in art and has always been attracted to realism. She’s just starting to dabble in wildlife art, and her favorite medium is colored pencil. She likes to use them to draw realistic fruits and vegetables.
She’s hoping to take a few college-level art courses while attending Montana State University-Billings in the fall. She plans to major in accounting and also plans to continue to work for an area ranch while in college. Samantha’s parents are Beth and Corey Stahl.
After graduation, Bryce is planning on joining the workforce as a diesel technician. His parents are Heather and Casey Greeno.
Laurel High School Muralist Taylor Hart
Taylor Hart – Laurel High School
Heavy metal music album covers were the inspiration behind Laurel High senior Taylor Hart’s design on the wall of the Laurel MasterLube location. Her design depicts a locomotive with fire shooting from its smokestack as it barrels down the tracks with sparks shooting from the wheels. It says, “All aboard 2023.”
Taylor began drawing in the seventh grade. She would draw in the margins of her notebook during class. Over time, her skills improved with practice, and now she continues to draw but also paints and works digitally.
“I’m really proud of how far I’ve come,” she said.
Taylor mixed all her own colors using basic blue, red, yellow, black, and white. She said the texture of the wall was particularly challenging, and getting the lettering to look the way she wanted was another challenge. Taylor did most of the painting herself with some help from her mother and brother.
“It took me longer than I thought it would,” she said.
Taylor plans to attend the University of Montana and has not decided a major yet. However, she plans to continue to draw and paint in her spare time. Her parents are Deana and Lance Hart.
Laurel High School Muralist Taylor Hart
Taylor Hart – Laurel High School
Heavy metal music album covers were the inspiration behind Laurel High senior Taylor Hart’s design on the wall of the Laurel MasterLube location. Her design depicts a locomotive with fire shooting from its smokestack as it barrels down the tracks with sparks shooting from the wheels. It says, “All aboard 2023.”
Taylor began drawing in the seventh grade. She would draw in the margins of her notebook during class. Over time, her skills improved with practice, and now she continues to draw but also paints and works digitally.
“I’m really proud of how far I’ve come,” she said.
Taylor mixed all her own colors using basic blue, red, yellow, black, and white. She said the texture of the wall was particularly challenging, and getting the lettering to look the way she wanted was another challenge. Taylor did most of the painting herself with some help from her mother and brother.
“It took me longer than I thought it would,” she said.
Taylor plans to attend the University of Montana and has not decided a major yet. However, she plans to continue to draw and paint in her spare time. Her parents are Deana and Lance Hart.