597 - Richard Loewen - Propinquity

As a child, Richard Loewen painted on walls and cabinets, discovering the joy of creating without limits. Today, he brings that fearless curiosity to his largest mural yet, Propinquity, at the Mandan Art Alley. His work encourages artists to embrace mistakes, follow where creativity leads, and celebrate imagination.

“I spent hours before I even put a speck of paint on that wall,” I’d say, because that’s how it started–looking, noticing, letting the space speak back to me. The concrete stretched tall, rough against the alley’s narrow corridor. Shadows from the grate fell in sharp lines, while conduit pipes twisted along the surface. A meter jutted out unexpectedly, and sunlight slid across uneven textures. Every crack, every protrusion, every change in light demanded attention. It wasn’t a blank canvas. It’s a living space. Propinquity had to respond to the wall itself before a single brush touched it.

At the bottom, water flows in subtle curves, grounding the composition. Above, a blue square cradles a gold cloud, a sky that feels like a memory more than a literal depiction. Shapes flow freely, playful and childlike, carrying echoes of Trapper Keeper folders, Lisa Frank colors, and early Microsoft Paint graphics that shaped a 90s childhood. Black-and-white checkers thread through the piece, giving perspective and a touch of familiarity.

I layered every color four to seven times. Meticulousness became the medium itself. The wall demanded attention: pipes moved mid-project, shadows shifted with the sun. I adapted. I responded. That’s part of the joy. The mural pulled me in and the unexpected shaped the work.

Propinquity means falling in love out of proximity. My hope is that people connect simply because they share the space. I don’t prescribe feelings. Sometimes people have emotions without explanation, and that’s beautiful. Some will feel nostalgia, some wonder, and some will just pause. That’s enough.

The mural belongs to everyone who sees it, just as much as it belongs to me. It’s a fixture now, something you can’t imagine gone. That’s what I wanted: a quiet, persistent connection, a shared space where color and shape, shadow and light, memory and play all meet. Propinquity isn’t just about proximity. It’s about care, attention, and the subtle love that grows when people simply coexist.

If you want to see more of my work, there’s another mural inside Fourth Street Tattoo in Bismarck. It’s a smaller space, but it carries the same energy, the same playfulness you see in Propinquity. And for anyone who wants to follow along with what I’m making, my Instagram is @richardloew.