The outside wall of the Quesnel Curling Centre received its first gentle brush strokes Tuesday. "The first day is always a little chaotic," said local artist Jerii Cassidy. Also, the weather didn't cooperate - a rain warning was in effect for the day the "Heritage of the Cariboo between 1900 and 1950" mural project started getting underway.
But Cassidy didn't worry too much. " A little rain in your [paint] tray - who gives a hoot," she said. " A lot of rain - that sucks." As a first step the 3,000 square feet wall has to be covered with yellow primer, which acts as a neutral base. Once that is done, the four artists - Jerri Cassidy, Graeme Jones, Kerry Kilsby and Eric Sutton, all of Quesnel - can start painting shapes and colours on the huge brick canvas.
Yugoslavian Naive is the painting style they'll employ. "It's a very simple style using bold colours," Cassidy said. And Jones elaborated on exactly what will appear eventually.
"It's an assortment of attractions in Quesnel," he said. "It'll have the BX steamboat, the Fraser River log run, native themes and also animals."
The mural will cost $48,000 dollars to complete. The City contributed $20,000, and the remainder is to be financed by donations.
But so far, only about 20 per cent of the donations component has come in, Cassidy said.
The work must be finished by September 1. Until then, the four artists will be working five days a week, Jones said.
From the Quesnel Cariboo Observer, Page 3