Mesquite Artist Known For Public Murals

By NICK YAMASHITA

The Progress

Mesquite artist Miles Woods has been getting high praise lately for his creativity and talent displayed in recent murals he has painted for various spots in the local community. He has received special recognition for one specific mural he painted at the Virgin Valley High School.

This mural is a colorful recreation of the well-known World War II image of the flagraising at Iwo Jima. This beautiful piece appears on the wall in the VVHS administrative office area.
Woods has also done murals for J.L. Bowler Elementary School in Bunkerville, the Bunkerville Library branch, and multiple homes in Mesquite.

“I just paint what the client wants,” said Woods in an interview with The Progress last week. “The client has an idea, I go home and sketch it out and then get approval to paint. It is a great way to give back to the community where I grew up.”

Woods said that his murals range in content from history and patriotic to sports and fantasy-themes. “I even have done Harry Potter and Magical Treehouse murals,” he said.

Woods has been doing art his whole life. He grew up in Mesquite and graduated from Virgin Valley High School in 1990. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salvador, Brazil. Then, upon his return, he attended a trade school and eventually earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Design.

Woods then went to work as an industrial designer artist for video games from about 2000-2017. He resided in Northern Utah but worked for Disney first on such games as The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Toy Story 3, Ultimate Band for the Wii, and more. He then worked for EA and Sony on projects which included the Sims games, Twisted Metal, and War Hog.

In 2016, Woods went to work for a company called the Void in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The company was a pioneer in Virtual Reality.

“I was able to create some really innovative projects which included the Ghostbuster Experience at Madame Tussauds in New York,” Woods said. “I then partnered with Disney doing a Star Wars experience standalone virtual reality show in Downtown Disney District at Disneyland and also at Disney Springs in Disney World.”

Woods moved back to Mesquite in May of 2020 due to a lot of the changes in the post-COVID world. Before moving back, he took a job as the Senior Creative Artist for Evermore, a fantasy-theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah which features actors and amazing optical views.

Currently, Woods works for Xtreme Foam Works which designs custom climbing gyms and equipment in St. George, Utah. They design climbing gyms around the world.

“I have had some amazing experiences being an artist and it has brought me a lot of experience,” Woods said. “It has allowed me to use my own innovation and creativity for it.”