By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
The arts are thriving in Canal Winchester and the unveiling of four outdoor wall murals in the city’s historic downtown has further enhanced the creative atmosphere.
The murals were installed in time for the Canal Winchester Art Guild’s annual Art Stroll on May 9.
“The beauty of art lifts peoples spirits,” said Linda Boving of the Canal Winchester Art Guild. “There is a wealth of talent among the members of the Art Guild. The goal of the mural project was to bring art out of their studios and onto the street.”
Only Canal Winchester Art Guild members were eligible to submit murals and four were chosen out of 66 entries. The competition judges were Mayor Mike Ebert, Brent Foley, Ric Noland, Tari Clidence and Kelley Doerfler.
The winning artists, their murals and the locations of the murals are:
•Dick Weiser, watercolor titled, “Downtown Canal Winchester” located at CornerSmith’s on East Waterloo Street.
•Gary Bumpus, acrylic titled, “East of Trine Street,” located at John Kantner’s law office on West Waterloo Street.
•Robert Warren, oil titled, “First Wheels,” located at Sticks ‘n Stones Studio on East Waterloo Street.
•Linda Henry Boving, digital art titled, “Blue Hydrangea and Swallowtail,” located at Dr. William Murray’s on South High Street at Stradley Place.
The murals vary in size and average between 6 x 8 feet to 8 by 10 feet. They are printed on a special colorfast vinyl that has a heat activated adhesive on the back.
“For this first mural installation we focused on the historic district of downtown Canal Winchester,” said Boving. “The locations were determined by the city, Atchley Graphics (the installation company) and the building owners themselves.”
Boving said the murals are expected to last between one to three years.
“Our original intention was to leave the current murals up for only one year, but hopefully we will be able to extend that time significantly,” said Boving. “The Art Guild will hold a new competition each year as long as the community is supportive, and so far everyone has been delighted with the results.”
Boving said one of the main goals of the Art Guild is to promote and encourage the arts in Canal Winchester and to continue to promote the city as an art destination.
“Canal Winchester Development Director Lucas Haire, approached the Art Guild in 2014 with the mural concept,” said Boving. “The guild has been discussing doing public art in the downtown area for some time. We are also discussing designing bike racks and doing some mosaic projects with benches, tables and maybe even the front of the fountain at Stradley Park.”
Boving said Art Guild Treasurer Carolyn Sittler wrote grant proposals to help fund the mural project and local businesses and individuals made donations.
“Each mural cost approximately $1,000 depending on its size, which included the fabrication, installation and eventually their removal,” said Boving.
I met Robert Warren in 1975 when I lived in the house behind him in CBus. He restored Mercedes Benz. He showed me paintings he was attempting in his basement. Looks like the trade of a brush for a wrench worked out great! We even shot roundball in his drive. We run into each other from time to time. Good memories.
i love the work of Linda Boving. She is an amazing artist! We live in Georgia and can’t wait to see the exhibit when we visit family in Canal Winchester this summer.