Astronauts, pirates and magical forests, that’s just some of the new artwork inside Sherrelwood Elementary’s library. After a refresh and small renovation inside the library, Principal Cindy Davis didn’t want white walls in a room where kids were expanding their imaginations with books. So she searched for someone with great talent who could take on the project.

Principal Davis didn’t have to go far to find an artist to turn the stark, white walls into something colorful. Sherrelwood Head Custodian, Shane Bryant was the perfect artist for the job. Bryant has studied animation and illustration and has even created animation films that have debuted at international film festivals. By day, Bryant maintains the school grounds, but during breaks and after work, he fills the walls with literary, film and television characters.

"That’s the great thing about Westminster Public Schools," said Bryant. "I'm able to balance work, and things like this, as well as my own animation films."

Starting with just a pencil, Bryant is able to create floating dog astronauts, pig pirates and much more. Almost everything he has painted is based off of memory and doesn’t follow a set design. "I just thought it would be fun for the kids and the community to put up a lot of color and illustrations on the wall."