Mural week: Friday update

As I was leaving the RENARTWLK on Thursday, a tour led by Cameron Moberg was assembling so I joined it. Near the end of the tour, he mentioned that there was a Bomber Bob painted in Iroquois Park. I knew that Rein Bontreger had planned to decorate the concrete structure there, but I had not realized that he had been working on it. After the tour I bumped into Rein and he told me what he had been doing.

So Friday morning I rode over to Iroquois Park to take pictures. The side that you see from the street has a portrait of General Milroy. He was know as The Gray Eagle, so there is an eagle next to him. The bird also represents our wildlife because bald eagles have begun to nest in Jasper County. There is some corn, a staple for our agricultural base, and an Indian. Rein said it was a Iroquois, but I think the Potawotamie were the tribe that lived here before Europeans arrived. The last figure is the "Lady of the River." similar to the "Lady of the Lake" in King Author tales.

The south side has not been finished yet. It has the Rensselaer Bomber, Rein's favorite car, and a reference to Cruise Night. Unfinished is the Park logo and another car.

Rein is used to creating art on tee-shirts with a spray gun. He thought that the same skill could be used for a mural. So he got a bigger version of the spray gun that he uses for shirts and used outdoor paint that can be purchased at hardware store. I would not be surprised if he is soon doing other murals in area towns. They often want something that reflects their history and situation, and Rein is able to provide that.

More murals are being finished. Allison Bamcat (not her actual last name) signed her scarlet ibis on Thursday night.

All of the murals need to have the walls prepped before the mural is painted and usually the muralist has to do this. For the RENARTWLK the prepping was done by Ryan Preston, and the artists greatly appreciated it. Something else that was explained by Cameron was why some of the walls had small doodles on them before the painting started. They are what is called a "doodle grid." The artists takes a picture of the wall with doodles and overlays his or her drawing over it. This allows the artist to position the various elements of the mural correctly.

Suburban warrior finished her firefly mural on Friday. It is on two walls. I was surprised that she did not take the vines off before she started, but she thinks it complements the painting.

Ricky Watts was signing his work Friday afternoon. He is from Modesto, California and found this wall a challenge to work with. Cameron says that one of the marks of a good muralist is his or her ability to work with difficult walls.

A closer look of the signing.

Four people had painted their contribution to the bank mural by the end of Thursday. The butterflies are, of course, from Cameron Moberg. The pink with black marks is by Christine Riutzel, the flowers on the left by Max Sansing, and the purple flowers on the right by FASM.

Two more artists were adding their contributions on Friday afternoon. Allison Bamcat was decorating the top left and Nick Smith the bottom right.

The circle that was a mystery to me on the painting by Pawn is a hornets nest. Early morning is the best time to photograph it.

On Friday Caesar Perez was putting finishing touches on his chess queen. The crown, if one looks closing, has a city skyline in it. Caesar said that the bricks kept soaking up the paint. Because the alley is narrow and the painting tall, it is hard to find a good angle to view it.

Last night on the tour this wall was red and black. Later the artist sketched the outline and by noon it was colored though not yet finished. The artist is from Modesto, California and has known Cameron for many years. Cameron credits him with helping him become a street artist.

At the north end of the main alley, Mister Toledo is finishing up his painting.

The person depicted in Alex Ann Allen's mural is her brother who just graduated from high school. When she is done, she will have a picture of the mural put on a banner and give it to her brother as a graduation present.

This part of the Walk had one painting last year. Six more are being added this year.

As I was checking the murals on Friday morning, I noticed that the Edward Jones office had a sign on the door that it would be closed today. I saw Mr Yallaly inside and he invited me in to take a look around. The reception area has the original brick walls on both sides visible.

The front has a wall of windows.

There is a very nice office behind the reception area, as well as a conference room that can be accessed from the door on the Clark Cullen Street side, a kitchen area, and another office in the back. The remodeled interior is very attractive.