There's a kaleidoscopic rainbow taking flight over St. Petersburg, Fla. It isn't an exotic bird or refraction of light, Axios Tampa Bay's Selene San Felice writes.

• It's the "Mooney Anomaly," a four-passenger plane turned flying mural that's a joint project between artist Matt Kress and pilot Liam Hawkins.

Why it matters: The project represents a powerful partnership between two people conquering their fears. Hawkins overcame his fear of flying, and Kress confronted his fear of failing.

• They hope the "Anomaly" inspires others to pursue their own dreams.

🖼️ Flashback: Kress worked a desk job for 15 years after graduating from art school for fear he'd never make a living as a painter.

• Then he moved to St. Pete and saw a path to success in the mural-covered town.
• After participating in local shows and selling his work, he got his first mural contract in 2018, from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, his canvas wall art can be seen around the country.

✈️ Meanwhile: Hawkins took at least a thousand flights over the same timeframe to conquer his aerophobia. "Every bump, every noise, every look a flight attendant gave drove fear," he told Axios Tampa Bay.

• But "the only thing worse than how I felt in a plane was the idea of failing."
• He eventually got his pilot's license and bought the 1967 Mooney M20F that would later become the "Anomaly."

Between the lines: It's common to see custom-painted cars, but Kress and Hawkins say art and aviation have never intersected like this.

• "When we walked down this path, I had no idea we were pioneering an idea," Kress told Axios.

Even after a year and a half of flying the "Anomaly" from Albert Whitted Airport, Hawkins says it still gets a constant stream of attention.

• "Air traffic controllers talk to me about it as I'm trying to land the thing. People come up to me or shout over the fence at the airport, yelling, 'Hey what is that?'"

🔭 What's next: Hawkins is flying the plane to Wisconsin next month for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the world's largest air show. Next year, it'll be the focal point of the world's second-largest: Lakeland's Sun 'n Fun, in Florida.

• Hawkins hopes to inspire future pilots at those shows, especially those underrepresented in aviation, including women, racial minorities and young people.

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This snap of Falls Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., was taken by reader Therressa Hurley.

• The picture shows "the beauty of the falls flowing with an over-abundance of water from the past week. Unfortunately, this beauty is accompanied by heartbreak and destruction from those who were affected by the flooding," she writes.