Message of "love, kindness and peace" behind Cheyenne downtown mural project

Artist's depiction of proposed downtown Cheyenne mural

Reporter Becky Orr wrote about "Downtown getting giant cherub mural" in this morning's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:

The building at the southwest corner of 17th Street and Warren Avenue is a tidy brick structure with white shutters near the windows.

Owner Ed Murray wants to expand its purpose. He said he wants to provide an artistically beautiful mural on its south wall for people to enjoy.

The mural will depict a cherub created by 16th-century Renaissance artist Raphael. Murray, a business and property owners in Cheyenne, said he wants the art to help revitalize downtown and become a catalyst for more such works. 

Gillette artist Harvey Jackson will paint the mural on the south wall. It will be about 47 feet tall and 60 feet wide. “It’s nice to convey a message of love and peace and understanding,” Jackson said, especially given the turmoil in the world. 

Currently, a painting of a green martini glass covers part of the south wall’s red surface. The glass is part of the state’s message against underage drinking. 

Murray considered a western theme for the new mural, but nothing “embraced or beckoned” him, he said. 

During their deliberations, Jackson asked Murray what was in his heart that he wanted to project, Murray said. Murray started soul-searching and concluded that he wanted to project a message of love, kindness and peace. An angel is the best way to accomplish that, he said. 

Murray looked at dozens of angel images before he selected the cherub. The image is a departure from a typical western theme. Even so, cherubs have a western connection with their presence in paintings in many Old West saloons, Murray said. 

Jackson expects to start painting in late summer or early fall. It should take 30 to 60 days to complete.

Read the complete article here.

Call for proposals: Pinedale Properties Mural Project

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council (PFAC) announces a call for entries for the mural project to be located on the west end of the Pinedale Properties Building at 431 W. Pine St. PFAC is soliciting design ideas from the public. Anyone living in Sublette County is eligible. No mural experience is necessary. The PFAC Visual Arts Committee (VAC) will choose the final design concept. Design need not be a finished piece of artwork, as the VAC will be available to help develop and fine-tune the final design (for application to the wall) if necessary. The execution of the mural will be with the help of community volunteers, under the guidance of the Visual Arts Committee. Work will begin in July, as weather allows. Applications must be completed by April 29. Click here to download application

New mural in Newcastle

This new mural on a building in Newcastle was painted by Del Iron Cloud of Rapid City. The town's mural committee raised enough funding to commission Iron Cloud for a second mural in the near future.

Art with a story: literally. Artist Stephen Hannock to visit BBHC

Artist Stephen Hannock incorporates hundreds of phrases and sentences into his painting Flooded Cascade, Yellowstone Dawn, now on display in the Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

At first glance, the observer might miss Hannock's diary entries hidden in the walls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. But, on closer inspection, those brush strokes that add texture to the canyon wall, the forest, and the rocks below, are really words. In addition, viewers should look for buried images of people and places.

With its three panels, this painting measures eight feet tall and twelve feet wide, and adequately, if not paradoxically, fills the space occupied last summer by Thomas Moran's The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1893 - 1901, on loan to the Historical Center from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Hannock's version portrays the lower falls of the Yellowstone River with layers and layers of paint on the canvas, polishing each one before the next. After many layers with this treatment, the painting takes on a luminous effect.

In a July 30 talk titled Geology, Finance, and Rodeos around the Yellowstone Ecosystem, Hannock discusses his painting with visitors at its location in the Whitney Gallery. The presentation takes place at 3 p.m. and Hannock says it "will support and clarify the title." For more information, contact Acting Curator Christine Brindza at christineb@bbhc.org or 307.578.4051.

Stay up-to-date with all the Historical Center activities at http://www.bbhc.org/

Call for proposals: Helena, MT, Parks & Rec

From the Montana Arts Council blog:

The city of Helena Parks and Recreation Department and the Helena Public Art Committee (HPAC) are seeking artists to provide a design and painting for a new mural inside the band shell at Veteran’s Memorial Park located in Helena (Last Chance Gulch and Lyndale Ave.). The submission deadline for proposals is 5:00 PM, June 14. The project must be completed no later than September 15, 2010.

This mural project will replace the 10-year old existing mural. The project consists of four elements; an assessment and repair of the interior band shell mural surface; a mural design; the actual painting of the mural and the application of a protective sealant. The design of mural should incorporate or represent Helena community elements or icons and be such that the potential for graffiti and vandalism is minimized. The color and design should also be visually effective from a distance. An optional component of this project is to incorporate community involvement.

A complete Request for Proposals can be picked up at the city of Helena Parks and Recreation Department office on the 4th floor of the City-County Building, 316 North Park Avenue, or downloaded from the department webpage at http://www.ci.helena.mt.us/fileadmin/user_upload/City_Parks/RFP_mural_5.doc.

The competition is open to artists, architects and designers.

Mural Unveiling: Paredes Hablando

La Radio Montanesa: Voz de La Gente

La Radio Montanesa Board of Directors invites you to attend the

Fiesta Luncheon

11:00 a.m. with live music

and unveiling of its mural:

Paredes Hablando

Walls that Speak

by Artist Stevon Lucero

An Artistic and Historical Depiction of

Latina/os in Wyoming

Cecilia Aragon, Ph.D.

Oralia Mercado

May 1st, 2010, 1:30 p.m

Reception to follow and the screening of

2501 Migrants - 5:00 p.m

A film by Yoland Cruz

Alice Hardie Stevens Center

600 Jvinson St., Laramie, WY

"Paredes Hablando" mural unveiling May 1 in Laramie

On Saturday, May 1, La Radio Montenesa Voz de la Gente (KOCA) in Laramie unveils its mural commemorating Latinas and Latinos in Wyoming. The mural is "Laramie: Paredes Hablando -- Walls That Speak."

The day will begin with an 11 a.m. luncheon, followed at 1:30 p.m. by the mural unveiling. At 5 p.m., there will be a screening of the film "2501 Migrantes," a 2009 film that documents the population of a town that has been forced to leave to find work. This is at the Alice Hardy Stevens Center, 603 E. Ivinson Ave.

Info: Connie, 307-742-2842; cocaj58@aol.com

Lander Library taking RFPs for mural project

The Lander Library Friends Association and the Lander Library are excited to announce a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a Wyoming artist. A search has begun for a talented artist to paint a mural for a prominent 200-foot tray ceiling in the new library. The $20,000 mural project is a rare chance for an artist to display his or her work on a grand scale for generations to view.

All Wyoming artists are encouraged to read the Request for Proposal (RFP) and submit their qualifications to the Lander Library postmarked no later than Friday, Oct. 30. A mural committee will then review the submissions and select up to five finalists by Monday, Nov. 16.

The RFP is also available at all of the Fremont County library branches. Please alert artists to this opportunity. For questions, contact Barbara Oakleaf at the Lander Library boakleaf@fclsonline.org or 332-5194 or Susan Gray Gose with the Lander Library Friends Association susangraygose@wyoming.com or 332-9834.

Questions pertaining to this RFP may be directed to either:
Barbara Oakleaf, FCLS - Lander Manager
307-332-5194 ext. 301
boakleaf@fclsonline.org
Susan Gray-Gose, LLFA Vice-Chair
307-332-9834
susangraygose@wyoming.com

Call for artists: Lander Library mural project

Request for proposals from the Fremont County Library in Lander:

The newly renovated and enlarged Fremont County Library in Lander, Wyoming was substantially completed in the spring of 2009. The Lander Library Friends Association (LLFA) is planning to make a gift to the library of a mural depicting the Lander Valley. The mural will be installed on the tray ceiling of the new addition. It will be representational in style, painted in oils or acrylics, and approximately 202 feet x 7 feet in scope. It may be painted in the mural artist’s studio and installed by a skilled wallpaper hanger. If the artist prefers to paint the mural onsite, it must be done at the library’s convenience and subject to the library’s conditions. The art piece will be on permanent display in the Lander Library, providing a lasting point of pride for the community and an opportunity for the chosen artist to have his/her work displayed on a grand scale.

Artists interested in submitting proposals to provide such services are required to follow the recommended guidelines and instructions contained in this Request for Proposals (RFP). Proposals should provide a straightforward, complete, and concise description of the artist’s achievements and capabilities. Submissions should include photographs or slides of completed projects or the URLs of Internet sites where the artist’s work can be viewed. The selection committee will choose up to five finalists from the applications. Each finalist contracted to submit a design for the mural will receive $250 to cover the expense of creating a conceptual design. Artists may be asked to make an oral presentation to the committee to clarify or elaborate on their proposal.

Proposals must be postmarked no later than 5 p.m. MST, October 30, 2009. Address all proposals to:
Rebecca Thomas, Business Manager, Fremont County Library System, 451 N. 2nd St., Lander, WY 82520.

Questions pertaining to this RFP may be directed to either:

Barbara Oakleaf, FCLS – Lander Manager
307-332-5194 ext. 301
boakleaf@fclsonline.org

Susan Gray-Gose, LLFA Vice-Chair
307-332-9834
susangraygose@wyoming.com