Pacana Park got a new splash of color today.  

Casa Grande-based artist Mauriel “Mory” Morejon is painting a new mural on the 200-square-foot wall around the fitness court, which will bring vibrant colors of blooming cacti and a native Gila monster just across from the park’s basketball courts.

Color is something Morejon says adds good feelings and positivity to the area.

“It’s part of our life. The little kids, the first story they have is color,” Morejon said. “Today, there are a lot of people putting a lot of gray … In the nature, we don’t see gray. When we see gray, the storm is coming, it’s danger.”

Similar to Morejon’s first mural at Pacana Park, which sits 200 feet away at a ramada next to the lake, the local artist is putting an emphasis on using vibrant colors you might just find in the desert. 

“Here in the desert, we have color… a beautiful sunset,” Morejon said. “I like more midday because it’s more energetic, it’s more happy, brighter quality. The difference is sunset, all the colors on the sky are there, [and] in the midday, all the colors are on the ground.”

Morejon has painted several other public art pieces in Maricopa in recent years, including a large mural on a water tower across the Union Pacific Railroad near The Home Depot, a fresco on the side of the Maricopa Museum and Visitor Center and a painted horse statue near John Wayne and Alterra Parkways.

Morejon will continue working on the $3,200 mural tomorrow, which adds to the expanding public art scene in town.

“As we’ve seen with our most recent installations, like the Pecan Tree at City Hall and the horses around town, art can generate a sense of community pride,” the city’s Community Enrichment Director Quinn Konold said. “It has the ability to transform the ordinary into something unique and memorable. Through Maricopa’s Art Initiative, we’re turning everyday spaces into meaningful places and celebrating the things that make our city so great.”