Last updated on March 8th, 2026 at 09:07 pm
Fascinating Street Art: Muralist Erin Ashcraft
An artist's eye captures the soul of small-town Arkansas, one wall at a time“I took one drawing class, and I was hooked; I couldn't stop; I was like, this is it.”
A Mural That Tells a Town's Story
Stretching across the full side of a downtown building, the Monticello mural greets visitors with the words “Welcome to Monticello's Historic Downtown. Est. 1849.” From there, the eye travels across a postcard-style panorama of everything that defines this corner of southeast Arkansas. Banners for Drew Central and the University of Arkansas at Monticello frame the composition. A boll weevil — that infamous pest woven into the region's agricultural memory — appears alongside cultivated green rows of crops separated by brown soil, a tractor working the field, and a hand gripping a fishing pole over the waters of Lake Monticello. Deer and butterflies fill a section labeled “Wildlife,” while piles of timber logs and an eighteen-wheeler hauling them down the road serve as reminders that agriculture and logging remain principal industries here.
The mural's creator, Erin Ashcraft of Rogers, Arkansas, painted it over five weeks — a labor of collaboration between her artist's eye and the community's collective memory. Erin was born and raised in Monticello, and her feel for the place shows in every panel. The mural is a project of the Monticello/Drew County Chamber of Commerce and the Monticello Downtown Development Network.
We caught up with Erin at the grand opening of Main Street Art in downtown Monticello in mid-October 2022.
Monticello: A Working Town in the Delta
To understand the mural, it helps to understand the town. Monticello is a hub town in the Arkansas Delta that reflects the working farmer ethos of the surrounding area. The University of Arkansas at Monticello anchors the community and offers specialty majors in agriculture, forestry, and related fields — disciplines that mirror the land itself. On any given day, mud-covered trucks, tractors, and trailers pass through town, evidence that these vehicles have been out working the fields and timber tracts that spread across Drew County. It is a place where the landscape and the livelihood are the same thing, and Erin's mural captures that relationship in vivid color.
How It All Started
The Monticello Mural
Designing on the Wall
From Side Hustle to Full-Time Artist
The Tools of the Trade
Grid-by-Grid System
For large-scale murals that span entire building walls, Erin uses a precise grid system to translate her digital compositions onto physical surfaces with accuracy.
Procreate on iPad
Erin designs her murals digitally, layering artwork over photographs of the target wall and adjusting opacity to visualize the final composition before painting begins.
Nova Color Paints
A 100% resin-based paint brand shipped from California, chosen for its durability and vibrancy on exterior surfaces exposed to the elements.
Community Collaboration
Each commissioned mural blends Erin's artistic vision with input from local committees, ensuring the work reflects the community's identity and values.
What's Next
The remainder of our conversation turned to other muralists and locations of public art around the world. You'll find Erin's works in Fayetteville, Springdale, McGehee, and Monticello, Arkansas, as well as Joplin, Missouri, and her college town of Bolivar, Missouri. Since our interview, Erin has also completed a library-themed mural for the Southeast Arkansas Regional Library and has led communal painting events at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.
A Memorial in McGehee
The story behind the McGehee mural carries real weight. On September 20, 1975, what began as a routine fire call in downtown McGehee turned deadly. Three young firefighters — David Dupwe, Michael Hunt, and Walter Russell “Red” Leonard Jr. — lost their lives that day, and several others were injured. Each year since, the McGehee Fire Department has gathered at the site of the tragedy to honor their fallen brothers.
Erin's mural, painted on the side of the building at the memorial site, depicts a fire truck with three figures standing in the back — an image based on a photograph taken on the day of the fatal fire. The memorial also includes plans for a “story wall” and an additional painting directly across the street. Entergy Arkansas donated to the memorial project as part of its community support mission. As McGehee Assistant Fire Chief Keith Yelvington noted, the finished memorial enhances the beauty of downtown McGehee while honoring the sacrifice made nearly fifty years ago.
Update: The Completed Mural in McGehee
Erin's memorial mural for the McGehee Fire Department is now complete — a permanent tribute to David Dupwe, Michael Hunt, and Walter Russell “Red” Leonard Jr., three firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty on September 20, 1975.
The Verdict
Erin Ashcraft is a rising force in Arkansas's public art scene. Her Monticello mural transforms a blank wall into a postcard-style portrait of Drew County — its farms, forests, wildlife, and university — while her McGehee memorial gives permanent form to a community's fifty-year act of remembrance. Both works demonstrate an artist who listens to a place before she paints it. Born in Monticello, now based in Rogers, and with growing recognition across the state — including events at Crystal Bridges — her best work is surely ahead. Keep watching these walls.
Artist & Location Details
- Artist
- Erin Ashcraft, Visual Artist
- Based In
- Rogers, Arkansas (originally from Monticello)
- Website
- erinashcraft.com
- Erin Ashcraft Artistry
- @urnchase
- Mural Locations
- Monticello, McGehee, Fayetteville, Springdale (AR) · Joplin, Bolivar (MO)
- Useful Links
- Nova Color · Procreate · Arkansas Delta Byways · Discover Arkansas
Editor's Note: Erin's comments have been edited for clarity in print. This article was originally published on November 1, 2022. It has been updated in March 2026 with additional context about the Monticello and McGehee murals, background on the 1975 McGehee fire, and current information about the artist. See our original post about street and public art here. To find more Street Art stories on this site, use the search bar below.
