collaborative spray painting on canvas
Tronos Paint was an artist collaboration between Ryan Halsne, Mitch Klee, and Grayson Roper, from 2013-2015. The three of us got to talking at a party in college, and thought we were each pretty handy with a paint can. What started as a fun art project, quickly spiraled into a real side-hustle. We decided to brand ourselves as “Tronos Paint” and see how our paintings would sell. These spray painted canvases made their rounds between Minneapolis’s many coffee shops, and we even put on a few art shows. In roughly two years, we painted over 30 canvases, and a few mural-sized paintings. Our skills as artists and collaborators, exponentially grew.
The story of brutus:
This is the painting that spawned the idea of Tronos Paint. Founding collaborators, Ryan Halsne and Mitch Klee decided to get handy with spray paint in the neighborhood woods. Originally, the plywood wall was intended as a snowboarding structure. It was decided the blank wood needed a makeover one summer. It was not their first time using spray paint, or even making stencils, but definitely a first at that 10 foot high scale. Feeling accomplished, the two young artists were inspired to keep spray painting.
Seasons passed with “Bruce the lion” lurking on the banks of a creek in suburban Minnesota. Many paintings later, and a fully formed artist collaboration at work, it was decided “Bruce” needed another makeover. The original lion stencil was borrowed from a favorite metal band. Now that there was a brand associated with our project, we felt the need to change it to something original. The massive painting was moved to Minneapolis where it was reborn as “Brutus, the Eclipsing Lion Turtle”.
“Brutus” was about to embark on city life. The painting would see many homes between coffee shops, pool sides, and art shows. Finally to find its final resting place on the bank of the Mississippi River, at the foot of the famous Stone Arch Bridge. It wouldn’t last long before being vandalized and tossed into the water.
