Local artist Lee-Anne Chisholm started painting a new mural in Quesnel on Aug. 27, on Reid Street below Granville’s Coffee.
Chisholm primed the plain wall of the lowered enclave late last week after being commissioned by the building owner and business owners of the coffee shop as well as the Outlaw Clothing Company and started adding colour on Tuesday. She plans to add a lot of colour to the piece, which will depict a street scene with cobbled stones, architecture, flowers and string lights.
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“Maybe later they’ll be able to put up real string lights,” she said.
The scene, based on a mashup of images Chisholm sourced and then superimposed her own drawings on, will also employ the perspective art technique to create the illusion of depth and distance.
“It will make [the space] look a little bigger with the style of painting we’re doing,” she said, adding that she hopes the spot will become more comfortable and inviting.
Chisholm said she anticipates completing the mural in about one or two weeks.
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The artist has painted several murals around the city, often in partnership with her husband, sculptor Aaron Harder.
She said they finished art at the Quesnel Curling Centre on Monday, the day before she started her current project on Reid Street. The art at the centre is a combination of steel and paint meant to represent curling, Quesnel and nature.
| Local painter Lee-Anne Chisholm and her husband, sculptor Aaron Harder, completed art at the Quesnel Curling Centre on Aug. 26, 2019. Karissa Gall photo |
In March, the couple collaborated on art at the airport that combines wood and paint, and represents hiking and exploring Quesnel.
And last summer, Chisholm finished a mural in the alley behind Spa Rivier, Green Tree Health and Wellness, and Reid Street Pharmacy that represents nature, beauty and health.
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The couple said they have noticed businesses taking up the trend toward beautification in the community.
“A lot of the businesses, they’re getting new lighting. Reid Street was just done last year, and so I think a lot of people are really excited to improve the buildings,” Chisholm said.
“Then also seeing what’s possible with more work coming up around town and doing more projects, they’re seeing the possibility of their own spaces and what can be done,” Harder added.
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karissa.gall@blackpress.ca
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