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The already attractive landscape became much more colorful in an area of Winchester away from downtown.

Last week, a mural was painted along a concrete wall on Athens-Boonesboro Road.

The location is between Hall’s on the River restaurant and Waterfront Grille and Gathering, and just across from Athens-Boonesboro Road, in the Coffee Springs Falls hiking area.

The mural features a turtle, along with much more.

“I was trying to think about things that would be natural to Kentucky and out in the nature and out in the woods,” said artist Emily Bishop. “I kind of went with the box turtle.”

Bishop, a graduate of Ball State University with a master of fine arts (MFA) degree, hails from the Indianapolis area and runs a business called Penny Copper Collective.

Bishop first learned about Winchester and Clark County through her cousin, resident Kelly Able.

Before long, at the advocacy and with approval from the Southwest Clark Neighborhood Association – dedicated to providing and promoting activities to build community and foster civic responsibility – Bishop was allowed to move forward.

Sitting on a tarp to protect herself from small rocks, with paint and brush in hand, Bishop began her artwork last Friday.

The multi-colored turtle features a red and brown body, as well as red feet with blue toes and gray skin characteristic of turtles.

Also, its multi-layered shell has a bottom color that could best be described as light orange and an upper layer of shining blue.

Yet that’s not all.

Leaves, plants, and more emerge from the top layer of the blue shell, stretching toward the highest point of the concrete wall.

On the upper left-hand side of the slab, just above the turtle’s head, the words “Coffee Springs” are spelled out in cursive writing.

On the upper right-hand side, behind the turtle’s backside and next to layers of plant life, the words “Daniel Boone Heritage Trail” are spelled out.

For Bishop, the opportunity is unique.

“I’ve done a few murals that were [for] private establishments, so nothing public,” she said. “This is a little more out of the ordinary as far as location.”

However, with a love of the arts, the passion remains the same.

“I have done art since I can remember. I like the abstract nature of it; that it’s not totally realistic,” Bishop said. “There’s some freedom, and I liked the idea of the overgrown plants combining with the animal.”