LEE, Mass. – Wearing paint-speckled pants on Main Street in Lee, Cheyenne Renee was spending a summer day painting a mural.

Her goal is to have a mural in 50 small towns across every state as part of her "50-in-50 Project," which combines her love for art and travel while highlighting small towns and businesses across the country.

What You Need To Know

  • A new mural is going up in Lee

  • Cheyenne Renee is visiting to paint it as part of her 50-in-50 Project

  • The project is to create a mural in 50 small towns in each state

  • You can visit her mural on Main Street on the side of Meow and Growl Pet Supplies 

“It also acts as advertisement for a town because a lot of the times, when it comes to art, people want to stand in front of it. They want to take a picture. They’re going to share that on social media, and that creates an online web. And it’s a way for public art to connect people from one small town to the next small town,” Renee explained.

For her eleventh stop, she is highlighting some of the things the town is known for, thanks to the help from the Lee Chamber of Commerce, which was excited for her arrival.

“We jumped at the chance. We thought it was a great opportunity to bring art to Lee and to highlight our wonderful little town. So we were thrilled to bring Cheyenne to Lee, and we think it’s a wonderful project. And were so amazed by her artistic ability and how she is highlighting so many of the important parts of Lee that were so proud of,” Lee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathey DeVareness said.

Featured in the mural are a cow for High Lawn Farm, the Eagle Mill and the Housatonic River.

Renee is filming a documentary about her time in each state to show people why each small town is memorable.

“Doing interviews with different people that live with the location and really trying to connect people to why the location is important, or why it would be a good idea to travel there,” said Renee said.

As for Lee, Renee has found it very welcoming.

“Everybody has stopped and wanted to take photos, or introduce me to their kids, or talking about the project. And that’s been very unique to Lee. I can tell it’s a community that’s excited about it, so that makes me so excited and happier to be here doing it,” Renee said.

Her next stop is Vermont, and she plans on visiting a few more states this year. She plans to visit every state by the end of next year. 

There will be an unveiling for her mural at 2 p.m. Friday. You can follow Renee's journey on her website.