Milwaukee Brewers fever is everywhere, and one We Energies employee is putting her own colorful stamp on the celebration.
Katie Bogan, an environmental scientist and talented chalk artist, created a larger-than-life portrait of Brewers star Jackson Chourio in downtown Milwaukee. The 9-by-10-foot work of art is displayed on the plaza outside Chase Tower near Wisconsin Avenue and Water Street.
Bogan spent about 24 hours creating the portrait, commissioned by Milwaukee Downtown to celebrate the Brewers’ trip to the World Series.
Her subject wasn’t chosen at random. Bogan asked her Instagram followers which Brewers player they wanted her to draw. Chourio was the overwhelming favorite.
Finding a home and a team in Milwaukee
Bogan moved to Milwaukee about a year ago and said she wasn’t much of a baseball fan before arriving. That changed quickly.
“The love of the Brewers is so contagious that, despite me never having watched baseball before, I am diehard Brewers fan,” she said.
Her creation is attracting plenty of attention from people passing through downtown who are stopping to admire and take pictures of the art. It has also gotten national attention with Major League Baseball posting about it on social media.
“It’s just beyond my wildest dreams,” Bogan said.
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And like the excitement surrounding a World Series run, the artwork isn’t meant to last forever.
That’s part of its appeal.
“I highly encourage everyone to stop by and take pictures while it’s still here because this is only going to live on through pictures,” Bogan stated.
Weather permitting, the chalk portrait is expected to remain on display throughout the World Series.
For Bogan, it’s a chance to combine her creativity, her new love of Brewers baseball and her connection to the community she now calls home.
And for Milwaukee baseball fans, it’s one more reason to chalk this postseason up as something special.