By Greg Morgan

Freelance artist Kevin Smith adds some flavor to the walls of Main Street Bagels underneath North Avenue Student Housing on the Mesa State campus.

In the children’s story about the shoemaker, the elves snuck into his shop at night to make shoes. Well, Main Street Bagels on the Mesa State campus has a similar situation. Someone has been coming in every night to paint a mural along the ledge above the counter, and everyday it seems like more and more has been added to it. The mystery, though, has been solved. In this story, it wasn’t an elf, but local artist Kevin Smith.
Smith has a long history of working with Main Street Bagels, but that’s not the beginning of the story. Smith grew up in Illinois but felt like a change was necessary to pursue his passion.
“‘Cause in Illinois you had cornfields and soy beans, just nothing to spur the imagination,” he said.
Smith moved to Grand Junction on his 18th birthday.
“My intention was to go to school at Mesa,” Smith said, but as is the case for many college students, he had a hard time staying focused on school.
“I didn’t want to study the prerequisites,” he said. “My art was getting to the point where I didn’t want to study it, I just wanted to practice it.”
Eventually he grew restless and another change was needed. He lived in Grand Junction for two years then joined the Army. While stationed in Germany, Smith never lost sight of practicing his craft, taking part in several art shows. After his stint in the army, Smith returned to the Western Slope, still not losing sight of his art.
“I did little odds and ends jobs here and there,” he said, “but I still did my artwork the whole time.”
He was still practicing his work but practicing alone was not enough.
“I needed to get my work out there,” he said.
In 2003, he noticed a “Wanted Artist” ad in the window of Main Street Bagels, so he went inside to ask about it. As a result he painted a mural later titled by the local press as the “Three Musicians,” in the alleyway behind Main Street Bagels. In 2005, the owners of Main Street Bagels, Missy and Mark Smith (no relation to the artist), contacted him again to paint another mural on the inside of the restaurant. This painting marked a major turning point in Smith’s career.
“When I started I had an epiphany,” he said, “and my art went from so-so to almost a master level over night. When I started painting, it was like I was totally connected to it.”
When plans for the new Main Street Bagels started to form, a spot for another mural was in the blueprint, and now he works every night painting. However, unlike the elves in the children’s story, it was not Smith’s intention to work by the stealth of the night.
“I enjoy painting in front of an audience,” he said.
Originally, he was going to come in during the day to paint, but there wasn’t enough room in the shop for him and the customers, so he had to find an alternative time to work. He had to adjust his sleep schedule, going to sleep at six in the morning as opposed to nine in the evening.
“It took about a month to adjust,” he said.
Aside from Main Street Bagels, Smith has also worked at the Grand Junction Visitor’s Center, painted two murals inside Quincy’s Bar, and worked all around the country, including North Carolina, California, Illinois, as well as in Europe. The mural of the Monument in Quincy’s Bar bears the image of the car of a man who drove over the edge of the real Monument and survived.
“I like to hide things,” Smith said. His newest mural is no exception.
“I’m going to have a longboard leaning against a tree in the background somewhere,” he said.
Once the people in the mural are finished, customers might see some familiar faces. When they order their coffee, the smiling barista handing them a latté may be the same face in the mural. All of the characters in the mural are employees, including the owners.