A new mural is gracing downtown Quesnel, adding a new pop of colour and levity.
For several months, Prestone Arts has been working on the piece, which covers part of the wall on Paradise Salon in the corridor between it and the Canada Post building.
It features an airplane and children holding out their arms, imitating the plane.
"The airplane that's on the mural belongs to the gentleman who owns the buildings, same with the dog. The kids are more just random children of different cultural backgrounds," said Keith Prestone, adding he wanted to represent all people who call the region home. "The background initially was larger mountains but we decided to use mountains from the region. So these are the Cariboo Mountains up in the Bowron Lake region."
The mural includes one child wearing a T-shirt that reads "take it easy" which Prestone said helps evoke the light-hearted feelings he wanted the work to convey.
"Kids live so much in the moment and they are so good at reminding us how joyful and fun life can be," he said.
Prestone worked with fellow artist James Wittner on the mural.
"I prefer to work with somebody else on a mural, it's just way more interesting and it challenges you to actually think about what you're doing and why you're doing it," Prestone said. "Other people often have a different perspective on how things should maybe look and I think that's an awesome thing, to be able to push your understanding of why you're painting a certain thing a certain way."
He said different artists have different strengths and weaknesses and when artists work together, they can complement each other and improve their skills when working on pieces.
Wittner has taken a few art classes and he enjoyed his experience working with Prestone. He said he hopes to work on more art projects in the future.
"I had a lot of fun with it, it's my first experience doing anything like this," Wittner said. "Keith is very encouraging and he's a very good artist."
One of Prestone's favourite parts of the painting is the end closest to the neighbouring sunflower mural, which he also worked on.
"I like that end of it because if you're coming from the other side it really draws you down this corridor," he said. He added that he likes the feeling of joy and living in the moment the children evoke and hopes that comes through for people who view it. He also hopes the vibrant colours bring a touch of positivity to the city on dreary days.
Wittner said he doesn't have a favourite part of the mural and likes how the whole thing works cohesively.
"I like that it is a reflection of the local area and the outdoor aspect of it is fun," he said. "I don't think I would pick one specific part of it because it's all good. It all fits together." He added that people don't get out and enjoy the outdoors as often as they used to and he likes that part of the work.
There are many walls in Quesnel Prestone would like to work with other artists on designing something special for. Businesses and the city have been excited to see more art throughout Quesnel. He's also hoping to work on some indoor murals for the next few months as working outside in the colder seasons becomes challenging with weather and less daylight.
Wittner enjoyed working with Prestone and appreciated the opportunity to work with him.
"That's the thing I like about Quesnel, they have a sense of community here and this just adds to that. When you get local artists working together, it just amplifies it even more," he said. "I have a really hard time motivating myself to do any sort of hobby or artwork at home and Keith kind of brought that out of me."
Prestone also brought some of his grandchildren in to help with the mural. He said they were helpful and he really enjoyed spending the summer working with them and seeing how much they enjoyed being involved with the piece.
"It's really great to see artists encouraging each other and doing their best work together," Prestone said.
