Submitted photos

Using airbrush and spray paint techniques, Matteo Miles brought this large-scale portrait to life on the side of the Palace in downtown Burns.

Meet the muralist
Matteo Miles is the artist nickname I gave myself to brand my work. My full name is Matthew Miles Gutierrez. I’ve painted on canvas a lot in my earlier career, and I’ve done sculpture, sewing, tattooing, and graphic design. I only recently became involved in public art. I would have never thought I’d be painting on such a large scale, inside and out. Seeing artwork on buildings makes such a difference in a space, and makes a positive one at that.

I try my best to constantly exercise my abilities in projects all around me. It’s important to constantly think creatively. I’m inspired by a lot of pop culture elements, including old movie references and vintage advertisements. Southwestern billboards serve as a good template for my designs a lot of the time. Lately, I’ve been using a lot of sky and cloud elements.

I’ve really enjoyed (doing) historical based murals, as they look like old collages inspired by archived photos from that specific town. I love doing realistic faces, so doing large-scale portraits of figures has been a favorite.

The Keady family invited me from Greenville, S.C. to add (more) color and flair to the cityscape of Burns. This was the farthest I have traveled for a project, and I (grew) to love the community and learn so much about the history, its people, and the future. I hope to return by spring of 2023 to pull inspiration into more work and give the community more to smile at. I can’t wait to keep pushing myself to create even bigger and better murals in the future, wherever I go.

Miles comes to Burns
Forrest and Jen Keady met Miles in South Carolina. After seeing several of Miles’ murals, the Keadys decided to reach out to him because they wanted to see more murals in Burns that would spread a positive message, bring life and energy to the spaces they occupy, and give people yet another reason to stop in our small town.

The Keadys talked with Miles about the images and messages they wanted to share and said they found him “approachable, relatable, genuinely interested in people, and crushingly talented!”

During the last week of September, Miles created two murals in Burns, using airbrush and spray paint techniques. The “DREAM BIG” mural went up first, on the side of Elaine

and Stacey Davies’ building. This image is bright and colorful like a Harney County sunrise (or sunset) and showcases snow geese in flight. The message is relevant for all of us, to dream big for the things we want and to never just settle for what we get.

The mural on The Palace was also a collaboration between the Keadys and Miles. This time, they wanted to create something a little edgier, but still relevant. The beautiful redhead tells us, “THE FUTURE STARTS NOW.” She has that ‘50s pin-up/cowgirl-type look with an arm of tattoos that speak toward inclusivity. This mural is basically reminding everyone to stop waiting for whatever it is you want, and start making changes in your life today.

You can view examples of Miles’ other work online at: matteom.com

You can also connect with Miles via Instagram: @matteomilesmurals or email: matt@matteom.com.