In February 2022 the Library Art Center (LAC) in Newport, NH, USA approached me about joining a group of people in regards to a town mural that had fallen into disrepair.  The town had come to the point of pushing to have the old mural taken away.. Though it seems Newport had other ideas!   

The LAC had the vision to reinvent this mural bringing back some of Newport’s heritage. At that time I had been invited onto the Library Art Center Staff as The Community Arts Engagement Facilitator & to me it made perfect sense for me to be the one to head the project's design & artistic output. The LAC manned fundraising efforts. They did all the organization of the social events, the ‘Paint Out’ on the green & the end of project ‘Unveiling’. I redesigned the mural & kept the integral historical aspects of the original though I added a little more balance to the design & tried to create an invitation to view for a while. The historic relevance to me was important. 

My last public project was painting (51) 4" x 4" paintings for the Library Art Center's CSA (Community Supported ART) program.  Going from small 4” x 4” paintings to a 48’ x 12’ mural is an amazing  jump.  Testing one’s capacity to follow through & get the job done feels hugely satisfying. I think it’s a wonderful practice. 

So, I researched the history of Newport with the help of Pam LaFountain of Newport Historical Society & we were able to gather as accurate a historical picture of Newport through the years as we could. Buildings have been demolished & the train depicted in the scene last ran in September 1977. The town holds history in these architectural structures around us & it felt good to bring a small remembrance of that history back to the people. 

Once the historical paraphernalia was collected I began forming a new design on a 1’ x 3’ panel. The sketch was in gouache initially though I switched to oil for my ease & comfort. Meanwhile, Nick Scalera, a local man of many talents, prepared (36) 4’ x 4’ cradled panels made from marine board & PT supports. He also built 12 huge easels to support the mural panels so I, & local volunteers, could transfer line drawings onto the panels. These projected images made the transfer of design from sketch to mural as simple & as accurate as plausible. Breaking this big project into smaller action steps was key. As are some good volunteers!

After the sketch was completed onto the (36) 4’ x4’ panels we transported them all to the local green on an ingenious contraption built by Greg Young made to move all the panels in one go. Nick Scalera built massive easels to house the panels. LAC made a call to 34 area artists to come and paint together in one four hour stretch of time. It was a great community effort to block in the initial color of the mural and when the four hour paint time was up the mural panels were relocated back to 15 Main St. where I had the pleasure of finishing up the painting process with a small tight host of dedicated volunteer artists. Namely, Mal McCloughlin & Karen Little, plus my friend Tom Kelley.  

On October 3rd the last details of the mural were completed & Nick Scalera & help mount the mural on the Newport Fitness block, facing a lovely landscaped courtyard right in front of the Aurora Bakery & Cafe . On October 8th, 2022 we celebrated the mural's completion & the amazing community effort to make this happen. We had a gathering, we gave gifts to the wonderful volunteers, we had music & refreshments. What a super fun time & what an amazing community!