The City of Williams Lake has styled itself the
Mural Capital of the Cariboo and not without good reason. It was the local chapter of
Communities in Bloom which provided the initial impetus for a downtown mural project. The project was embraced by city council and got underway in (as best we can tell) 2002 with the first mural,
When Duty Calls, being placed on the fire hall in 2002. The artist was Dwayne Davis of
Davis Arts. Davis has been the artist for the majority of the downtown murals, which now total around 30, some inside but the majority outside.
One may check out all the downtown murals at the
Mural Tour.
Still another mural by Dwayne Davis, on this mural he was aided by art students Miranda Fontaine and Jamie Moore. The theme here is of a time when Williams Lake didn't yet even exist. After the settlement was deserted in the 1860s, it remained empty until the arrival of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in 1919-20. Included in the mural are several historic figures from Williams Lake's and British Columbia's past. The grandfather mentioned below was the grandfather of the owner of the property when the mural was painted in 2012, Deanna's Studio.
Mercantile Mural
8 3rd Ave. S., Williams Lake, BC V2G 1H9 Canada
Artist: Dwayne Davis, 2012
Funded by: Downtown Williams Lake BIA, Cariboo Friendship Society and support of the Cariboo Regional District and City of Williams Lake through the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society
About:
The “What a Boy Wants” sign above the bike for sale is Dwayne’s tip-of-the-hat to the biking community that was just starting to take off at the mural’s painting in 2012. General Mercantile & Tack did not really exist, but it is the kind of store that would have been the hub of each community during the 1890’s. Featured in the mural are the real historical figures Judge Begbie (1819 – 1894), standing beside the entry to the store, and Lloyd Cyclone Smith (1895 – 1932), standing in the doorway holding a saddle. The Dry Goods salesman, sitting with a cat, was painted from a photo of the property owner’s grandfather.
Artistic Notes:
Dwayne chose to paint in sepia tones to give the mural a 19th century feel. The only detail not in sepia tones are the flowers in the window boxes, which Dwayne added to bring colour to the mural. Dwayne wanted to make this mural approachable and he capitalized on the empty space in front of the mural wall by creating a design that lends itself to interaction. His goal was to make the viewer feel they are part of the mural. The many people who pose in front of this mural, with vintage cars and clothing, or just for fun, are a testament to Dwayne’s success. Two amateur artists, Miranda Fontaine (staff at Friendship Society) and Jamie Moore (summer student at Downtown Williams Lake BIA) helped to paint this mural. Dwayne likes to mentor amateur mural artists. Typically, he creates the mural design and then shows the artists how to paint rough work, or specific details. On this mural, the young artists had the opportunity to paint quite a bit, and Dwayne spent as much time mentoring as he did painting himself.
From Downtown Williams Lake