From left, DeAnn Upchurch and Janet Brewer stand next to the murals painted by Calaveras County artist Janice Carpenter. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch

Downtown Jackson was getting too dismal for Janet Brewer, so she decided to help liven things up a bit.

Brewer and her husband, Steve, who own Gold Country Publishing, and John and DeAnn Upchurch, who own Upchurch Electric, sponsored artist Janice Carpenter to paint the windows outside Rosebud's Classic Cafe.

Brewer contacted Patti and Ron Busch, who own Rosebud's Classic Cafe and the Celtic Knot, and asked what they thought about the possibility of having the outside of Rosebud's painted.

"We said, 'Yes,' about the idea to help make the street more interesting," said Patti Busch. "The reception has been positive."

"We're a tourist town and we wanted something that everyone can enjoy," Brewer said, adding that she hopes to be able to get the OK to have Carpenter paint the windows of other downtown businesses in Jackson.

"I'm hoping other businesses say, 'Let's put a sparkle in our window,'" Brewer said. "I hate to see our Main Street looking so dismal."

"I thought it was a good idea," DeAnn told the Ledger Dispatch, when asked why she decided to sponsor a mural. "There are a lot of windows that are empty in the downtown Jackson area and I'm hoping that it picks up and that other store owners follow along."

Though John and DeAnn live and work in Ione, DeAnn said she and her husband try to help out the basic community. "It would be nice if it also caught on in Ione," she said of the murals.

Carpenter, who lives in Calaveras County, has painted several other business windows in the county, Brewer said.

Brewer said she hopes to get the local schools involved in sprucing up downtown Jackson. Her idea is to give each school a large board to paint murals or pictures on; the boards, she added, could all be screwed to the walls of the downtown area.

Mike Daly, Jackson city manager, called the project wonderful and said the murals brighten things up a bit.

"Janet called me with this idea to sort of do a little beatification downtown," he said. "She had an artist in mind. I gave her some contacts with the landlords and she was able to make it happen at Rosebud's."

The reactions have been positive, he said. "It's nice to see something new downtown and it adds a nice sparkle. There's a little glitter in the paint so it literally does sparkle."

Having murals decorate downtown is a new thing, he added. "Some stores have done promotional things (with artwork) but we've never had a mural-type project."

Daly said he didn't know exactly how many of the businesses in downtown Jackson are currently closed, but estimated it to be four or five.

"I did my little part," Brewer said. "If everybody could just do a little, with the way the economy is, I think it could help the economy. I hope this will catch on."