New mural depicts local scenes on Eatonia rink
By Joan Janzen
EATONIA - Thanks to Dean and Fran Francis from Sagebrush Studios, the Eatonia rink now features a beautiful mural depicting scenes from the area. The community, along with Eatonia & District Recreation, sincerely appreciate their contribution.
The mural replaces the original one, which Dean did in 1997. “We volunteered to do this one,” Dean explained. “We researched the best colours for the hot sun so it will last longer.”
Dean Francis said he started the mural last year, however, a blizzard in November brought his efforts to an abrupt halt. “The one panel we did last year is looking good,” he said, happy with the results. “We got back at it in September of this year. We discovered if it’s plus 20 out, it is very hot on the south wall, and paint dries too quickly. So we had to wait until it was 15 degrees or cooler. It was kind of challenging, but it went well, and we’re happy we got it done.”
The project took about three weeks to complete, but a lot of time was spent setting up and driving back and forth while the daylight hours became increasingly shorter. “We chose a variety of images that depict the Eatonia region, the beauty of back roads, skies and fields. That’s the background of this area. We wanted it to be colourful and keep it interesting, bright and cheerful,” Dean said.
The images he chose had already been painted on canvas. “We paint directly on the cinder blocks, which is not the nicest surface to work on; it’s challenging,” Dean said. “Acrylic paint is also challenging because it dries a lot darker. That’s the toughest adjustment because I don’t paint with acrylics. But it worked.”
Dean said they used ladders instead of scaffolding, since ladders are more mobile. “So it was a lot of getting up and down the ladder,” he noted.
The weather also cooperated, with the occasional odd shower causing delays. Other delays were more enjoyable. “Pretty much every day we were there, we saw someone we hadn’t seen for a long time and had some really long visits. It was kind of nice to see people,” Dean said, obviously enjoying the occasional break and visit.
“The community has been incredibly supportive over the years, and we just wanted to do something in return,” Dean concluded.
