OSAGE COUNTY — One conversation with her grandmother was all it took to turn a lifelong love of art into a summer business that’s brightening storefronts throughout Osage County.

For Karley Schaben, a Fatima High School student who will be a junior this fall, painting storefront windows has become much more than a creative outlet. It’s an opportunity to share art with entire communities while developing a skill she hopes to continue long after high school.

“I’ve been pretty artistic,” Schaben said. “Anything artistic, I can do — baking, painting, any crafts. I’m a really crafty person. I’ve loved doing crafts my whole life.”

Ironically, window painting wasn’t even her idea.

It belonged to her grandmother, Elaine Schulte. “I was with my granny one day, and she came up with this idea,” Schaben recalled. “She asked if I’d heard about window painting. I’d seen a little bit of it on social media, and she asked if I’d be interested because she knew Mary Neuner in Westphalia and thought she’d enjoy something like that.”

At first, Schaben wasn’t convinced. “I honestly wasn’t thinking about doing it,” she admitted. “Then she kept kind of nagging me, and I finally said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ I mean, I’ll make money off of it anyway, and I like doing work.”

That conversation became the beginning of an unexpected journey.

Schaben contacted another window painter in Argyle, who shared practical advice about supplies, techniques, and where to purchase materials. “She kind of told me where she gets all her supplies from, how she does it and all that stuff,” Schaben said. “She just helped me kind of get started with everything.”

Although her grandmother introduced her to window painting, Schaben said her artistic roots run even deeper.

“I get all my artistic talents from my dad’s side, especially from my grandma,” she said. “She taught me how to paint growing up. She was definitely a huge inspiration for me when I was a kid. Even my dad’s really artistic. He did a lot of art stuff in high school too.”

Before accepting a single customer, Schaben practiced on a window at her father’s shop in St. Elizabeth. “My dad has one big window on his office, and he said, ‘Come down and practice on it,’” she said. “That’s basically how I got started. I practiced on his window and figured out everything I needed to know.”

While some artists spend hours sketching designs before ever touching a brush, Schaben takes a much different approach.

“I honestly just show up the day I’m supposed to paint,” she said with a smile. “I look at the windows, and whatever comes into my mind is what I do. I just make sure it’s good with the owners, whoever wants the windows, and they usually love it. So I just go ahead with it and do it.”

That spontaneity surprises many people.

Asked whether she arrives with drawings or traced outlines, Schaben laughed and admitted she doesn’t.

Instead, the storefront itself becomes her canvas, and inspiration comes in the moment.

She credits years of painting rather than any special training. “I didn’t really have to learn anything new,” she said. “It’s basically just painting. I’ve done painting my whole life. It’s just on a different subject.”

She watched a handful of social media videos to understand the basics, but beyond that, Schaben simply relied on skills she had already developed through years of creating art.

“I kind of got the gist of it from watching a couple TikToks,” she said. “It really wasn’t too hard because I’ve done painting my whole life.”

Even so, tackling that first public window wasn’t without anxiety. “The first one, I was definitely scared to mess it up,” Schaben admitted.

Each completed project, however, built her confidence.

“As it went on, I got more and more confident.”

She also discovered something traditional art couldn’t offer. “I love doing new art techniques on new subjects,” she said. “Regular painting or charcoal on paper gets boring after a while. I’ve been doing it my whole life, so it’s kind of repeat after repeat.”

Window painting, she said, constantly changes.

“This is something new. There are different themes — summer, fall, Christmas — so it’s fun because you get to do different stuff.”

Unlike chalk art or temporary decorations, Schaben’s work is designed to last.

The paint withstands rain and weather for months before being removed with a razor scraper.

“It won’t come off,” she said. “I think it’s supposed to last a good two to three months.”

Despite recent rains, she noted her Fourth of July windows were still holding up well.

Although Schaben plans to attend Nichols Career Center and pursue cosmetology after high school, she doesn’t see window painting ending anytime soon.

“I don’t think I’m going to go into anything super artsy for my whole life,” she said. “I’m planning on doing cosmetology, so that still kind of plays a role because it’s hair and makeup.”

Still, she believes painting could easily become a long-term side business. “I think it’s something I’m going to do through high school at least,” she said. “I could always do it as kind of a side gig.”

As Schaben’s reputation has grown, so has her service area.

She has completed projects in Bailey Settlement, Rich Fountain, Westphalia, St. Elizabeth, and Vienna while carefully avoiding communities where other window painters already work. “I kind of don’t go anywhere they go,” she explained. “I feel bad.”

Instead, she has focused on building relationships in communities where her work is welcomed.

“My home base is kind of St. Elizabeth because my dad owns a shop there,” she said. “I’m really familiar with that place. It’s a really nice community.”

Schaben estimated she had completed 15 businesses while additional projects were already lined up.

One Eldon business had hired her to celebrate its grand opening, and another customer had already asked her to return for both fall and Christmas displays.

“They want to schedule me again,” she said, anticipating painting during weekends and school breaks once classes resume. “I’m probably going to end up doing a lot during fall break and weekends because I’m not going to have every day like I do during the summer.”

Schaben’s greatest reward isn’t the growing list of customers — it’s the people. “I’ve had people tell me their kids love going around town spotting all the different window paintings,” she said. “That just really makes me happy.”

She especially enjoys watching strangers stop while she’s working. “Whenever I’m painting, people love to come up and talk about it,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve never seen anything like this.’ I just get to talk about it, and that makes my day a lot better.”

Those conversations reinforce why she continues to paint.

“Honestly, just getting to see people admiring it,” Schaben said when asked what she finds most rewarding. “People say, ‘I could never do something like this.’”

More importantly, she hopes the artwork leaves people feeling something positive. “I’m glad I can give people the opportunity to see how powerful art is,” she said. “How it can make them feel. Whether it’s patriotic, or it gives them a sense of home or comfort, I think it brings a lot of emotions to people.”

Knowing others appreciate those moments makes every window worthwhile. “It just makes me happy that they appreciate it.”

As colorful murals continue appearing on storefront windows across central Missouri, Schaben hopes they’ll do more than decorate local businesses.

She hopes they’ll encourage people to slow down, smile and perhaps discover that art can brighten an ordinary day—one window at a time.