The Miller Paint store in Battle Ground has debuted a new hand drawn mural that captures the theme and culture the store was founded on.
Pace Aho, a local artist aspiring to turn his passion into a successful career, crafted the mural with only a sketch to go off of.
“We talked a little beforehand about what I was thinking with a PNW theme, American flag and our culture,” store manager Kyle Huffstutter said. “Pace went onto our website and figured out what our culture meant and I really enjoyed how he was able to tie everything together in one scene.”
The mural prominently features Ernest Miller, the founder of Miller Paint. As a young artist, Miller moved to Portland from Germany in the 1800s. At that time, there was a lack of paint supply in the Pacific Northwest.
Orders of paint from the East Coast led to constant backorders and the paint was not suitable for the rainy weather of the Pacific Northwest, so Miller began to create his own paint in 1890, which was more suitable to the weather challenges of the region.
Now, 130 years and counting, Miller Paint has been made in Portland and provides paint for 50 stores throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Aho believes the mural is a big step for him in his artistic career. He has been drawing his whole life and picked up painting in middle school. For his last two years of high school, he went to a residential art school, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities.
Aho said attending that art school boosted his artistic ability.
“I would love to paint more murals in the future,” Aho said. “I already have clients lined up for murals and paintings in their homes. I would love to live and make a salary just doing art. That’s the dream.”
Aho also has a strong passion for ceramics. For his final art project in high school, he sculpted a three-foot tall man who was sitting down while eating breakfast.
Huffstutter said the mural sets the Battle Ground store apart from many other paint stores in the area.
“Miller Paint was founded by a muralist,” he said. “That whole aspect of it ties into having a mural in our store with our background.”
Huffstutter said Aho’s mural was able to perfectly capture what Miller Paint stands for as a Northwest company that values their culture.
The Battle Ground store also has photos on their walls that help tell Miller Paint’s history. Adding the mural as the store’s background helps provide customers with an understanding of where the paint comes from, Huffstutter said.
“There’s a lot of paint stores in our community, but Miller as a whole really focuses on our customer base and supporting them through their projects with both our professional and general customers,” Huffstutter said.
The Miller Paint store in Battle Ground provided Aho with all the materials and paint needed for his project and will continue to provide for his future projects, Huffstutter said.
Aho said he appreciates how generous the store has been to his rising art career. Aho has a passion for helping young artists and said he would like to one day teach art.
The Battle Ground store is able to help customers with any aspect of painting or staining a project. The store also provides architectural coatings.
It is located at 2312 W. Main St., Suite 101, at the Battle Ground Market Center.
People can find Aho’s art on Instagram @paceahoart.
More information about Miller Paint is available online at millerpaint.com.
