KEARNEY, Neb. — Impact Art is continuing to leave its mark on Kearney.

The non-profit finished its two most recent murals in November. The largest is a roughly 60-foot by 18-foot mural on the back of the city hall building. The city commissioned it in honor of 150 years since Kearney’s founding.

“We kind of wanted a balance," co-founder Derek Rusher said. "When you have the buffalo on the left side, then the antelope that’s kind of anchoring the right — you’ve got a little mix of some animals with the cranes above. But we wanted, at the end of the day, to really represent Kearney and the area.”

It also represents Impact Art’s growing imprint on Kearney. Derek Rusher and Josh Arias started the group eight years ago with the Lincoln Highway mural on Central Avenue. Their subsequent works have become common photo destinations and icons of downtown.

“We hope it just revitalizes spaces, it beautifies the community," Rusher said. "I think that’s just great for quality of life for the Kearney area.”

The murals don’t come easy. The group started designing the Kearney 150 wall about a year ago. It took 87 cans of spray paint, 11 rolls of tape and 115 artist hours to make it a reality.

“I think the neat thing about public art is people get to see the process a little bit," Rusher said. "People that were driving by here all day, every day, or walking by — they kind of see how we go about the process of the mural.”

Impact Art also completed a project at Kearney Regional Medical Center. The hospital realized that five patient windows looked directly at a brown wall, and only that wall. Now, they see a vintage Kearney sunset.

“When you talk about, how’s it make us feel? Well, we just want to make a positive impact,” Rusher said.

Impact Art’s next projects include murals in other cities across the region.