Mural project ongoing at library
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
A new mural by the Five Hills Art Guild, “The Tales of Copperas Cove”, is now coming to life on the wall at the Copperas Cove Public Library.
The mural, called “Tales of Copperas Cove”, includes the Ogletree Gap post office, with a stagecoach drawn by horses, and the familiar landscape of the west side of Copperas Cove, with a graphic novel style reminiscent of the “Prince Valiant” comic books of the 1950s.
The guild volunteers first projected the design onto the wall to sketch it, and started work when school dismissed for Christmas vacation.
“Anyone can join us, even if they are a non-painter,” said guild president Linda Lapierre. “This is like a paint by numbers. “I’ve mixed the colors, so now, anybody else can come behind us, grass #1, grass #2.
“Last night we had two non-skilled painters. That was really neat, because they helped me paint the sky. We’re not going to get too fussy with the painting; we’re trying to keep it Hal Foster style.”
Guild member Pamela Rowland is no stranger to mural painting, having created other murals, including the interior stone work and painting at Giovanni’s Restaurant and Alfredo’s in Lampasas.
“I’ve always liked it, just for fun. I’ve said, whatever ideas you have, I want to do it. I live beside this building,” Rowland said, pointing to the post office. “It’s fun to see it come to life.”
The guild hopes to have the mural completed within the next couple of weeks, after which an unveiling will be scheduled to share the finished work with the community.
Project manager Catherine Blashack, along with Lapierre and fellow guild members John Clark, Sheri Wilson, Jeanne Lizama have also been working on the painting.
Painting will continue daily, as the painters’ schedules allow, until its completion.
The large mural is the first in a series of paintings, with the other sections to be painted offsite on wood panels and then later attached to the walls high above the library’s lobby.
Subsequent panels will depict different times and different “tales”, with the guild welcoming ideas and photos for the panels.
To find out more about the guild’s activities and schedule for painting the mural, visit the guild’s page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FiveHillsArtGuild, or call 254-458-8424.
This is the guild’s sixth mural, with other murals located throughout the city to include the outdoor porch at Ledger Furniture on the corner of Main Street and Avenue D, the Donlie McMullin Realty Building at the corner of Avenue D and South 1st Street, the mural panels outside Preferred Plaza at 2210 E. Business 190, and at HomeBase Lumber.