Stephanie Peters

Over the summer, I painted a mural on the recreation center, in Elliston, Newfoundland, Canada. While I was there for other reasons, the recreation committee asked if I could paint a 115ft long mural on their building and I couldn't say no to that challenge.

The wall is facing a community park they had recently improved and they thought a mural would be a nice addition. They requested that the mural be community friendly and colorful but I was free to paint what I wanted. (Of course my sketches were approved by their committee before I began.) 

I wanted to make a mural that related to their community, and their history. Elliston is located on one of the northern peninsulas of Newfoundland, and historically it was a big  fishing community. Like most of Newfoundland, after the cod industry was eliminated in the 90's, Elliston struggled to stay alive. But 20 something years later, after the community got together to promote tourism, Elliston is a tourist destination known as the Root Cellar Capital of the world, with a strong tight knit community at the core of it. It is an incredible place to watch whales, see icebergs, and plenty of sea birds (puffins, gannets, and razorbills included!) Thousands of tourists visit Elliston for their location, natural features, and even for their festivals like the Puffin Festival, and Roots, Rants and Roars - a fall event that brings chefs from all over the world to Elliston. 

With all of this inspiration to work with, it was easy to come up with a composition that highlights what Elliston is proud of: their relationship with the sea. So I drew up a composition that started with Puffins flying off an island and then flowing into the life at sea. I included a variety of sea birds (Northern Gannets, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes, Black-back gulls, Razorbills, Double crested cormorant, Black guillemots, and Atlantic Puffins,) a fin whale, a humpback whale breaching, a humpback with calf, a minke whale, a school of cod, a school of sculpin, a gray seal, a crab, lobsters, squid, capelin, an iceberg, seaweed and a root cellar - to highlight all that is Elliston. 

The mural took ten days to paint, and thankfully, a few community members came by to help during the ten days.

Here is the finished mural:  

And a gallery timeline of the project:

And so after 10 days of painting, the mural was complete...

I have painted murals before, but this was my biggest mural to date. I really enjoyed painting it, but what I enjoyed the most about this project was the enthusiasm from the community. This mural is theirs. Some of them painted it, but many followed the progress along on Facebook or stopped by to say hi while I was painting. I wanted to make something that they will smile at when they see it, something that brought a little color to their world, and most importantly, adds a little joy to their everyday. 

I was so lucky to have this opportunity and I cannot thank the Town of Elliston enough for giving me the opportunity  - and I'll never be able to thank those who helped enough.  

If you ever find yourself in Elliston, Newfoundland. Take a look at the mural, it's across the street from the Home from the Sea Sealing Memorial Interpretive Center. 

I'm a big fan of tropical fish. Their patterns and colors are incredible, and, the coral reefs they call home are just amazing. I also find their shapes quite compelling too. These 'flat' creatures have the perfect structure to glide easily through water. Perhaps, this is how fish see us maneuver with grace on land  - but I'm still always in awe when I see fish (or any sea creature) move like they are dancing along with the pressure of water. My fascination with fish swimming may have to do with the fact that I can't really swim, and am quite terrified of deep water. But, I still love fish, and pretty much all sea creatures. Fear does not stop me from admiring the world under the sea, and drawing them when I can.. 

It does give me a whole new idea of making tropical fish patterns - or sea creature patterns, which I'm really excited about. So I'm off to doodle sea creatures (probably jellyfish) to come up with new patterns to decorate with... The moment right before you begin a big project, where you are filled with excitement and inspiration -- It's this kind of moment worth living for - the energy that fuels the artist.

A few of these are now hanging at The Verde Brewing Company located in Camp Verde, AZ. 
All of them (if not sold) are available in the store. Just click the image for more information. 

​Normally seen off the coast of Australia, this was a bit strange.
​ It was also strange when they invaded the Gulf of Mexico in 2000, and again in 2007... 

Apparently, Jellyfish can 'cling' to boats and other vessels to transport themselves into new regions. This is how they sprang up out of no where outside of San Diego, and how they populated the Gulf. Due to their behavior, and lack of heart, brain, and pretty much everything else we define as intelligent, Jellyfish can adapt and survive in any environment. They thrive in the most extreme conditions such as near underwater volcanoes or in the arctic ocean. Jellyfish as a species are remarkable but they are also a symbol of a devastating change in our oceans. As we all know, pollution, climate change, oil spills, etc. are causing a major shift in ecosystems around the world, and even creating dead zones in the ocean. But for Jellyfish--- Dead zones are paradise:

I personally find them beautiful, as they dance through the water, up and down with grace and poise. But, they are deadly... Some Jellyfish like the Box Jellyfish can instantly (okay in minutes..) kill you with their stings. And if that's not bad enough, jellyfish can wipe out the bottom layer of an ecosystem. They are opportunists and will eat everything from plankton to small fish. Even large ones, leaving no creature to survive to adulthood to then reproduce. Leaving only Jellyfish to survive. Beautiful but dangerous. 

Recently, the idea that Jellyfish represent a negative change in our oceans has resonated with me. If only jellyfish can survive what climate change, pollution, etc. is doing to our oceans-- then mass swarms of jellyfish are not only beautiful -- but dangerous. And it got me thinking, that perhaps an invasion of Jellyfish is what we need to pull our climate change talks into action.. or maybe I just like painting jellyfish.. but it has gotten me thinking about a new series -- an invasion of jellyfish - unmasking the beauty and revealing the danger.  So I've been working on some sketches and miniature paintings of jellyfish in preparation for large enormous over-sized jellyfish, to symbolize just how dangerous a jellyfish, or a group, can be.

A few years ago - cannot believe it's been that long, I found a yard of bright blue canvas in the scrap pile of a fabric store somewhere in Virginia. I thought it might be interesting to paint a portrait of an elephant with vibrant colors on it. This was around the time clear gesso became popular, so there was a wave of interest in painting on any surface that could be gessoed... well at least that was what was going on in my sketch books.
 
After I picked up some stretcher bars at a local art store, I stretched this beautiful brilliant blue canvas over the bars, and covered the canvas with Winsor Newton's clear gesso... I couldn't wait for the brillant blue surface to be dry and ready for my vibrant elephant.

Although Winsor Newton's clear gesso dries clear -- it also dries a little milky if you are slathering it all over a colored canvas... Slathering is the key word. I believe one coat would have worked fine, but in this case, the clear gesso did not dry clear and there was a coat of milky white...  My vision of an elephant faded, and the canvas became a questionable experiment tossed off to the side. 

Flash forward to July 2014... I was standing in front of large aquariums at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, watching kelp sway back and forth. Schools of sardines swirling in and out, pushing past rockfish, surf perches, and other common pacific coast fish that call Kelp forests home. If you have ever been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you will understand what I'm talking about --  the magic awe of the great ocean is artificially created in those aquariums. If you haven't been, perhaps these photos may help illustrate what I experienced:

Maybe it was the scale of the kelp forests, or the expressions of the fish watching you watch them, that caused me to fall in a trance. I just sat there taking it all in -- the movement, the moment, the water, the colors, the shapes, and their eyes, all in. It was, with a lack of better expression, a very inspiring experience. This was probably the first time I had ever noticed kelp as kelp, and not just some gross seaweed that washed up on to the beach. 

Back at the hotel room --- well, let's be honest, on the ride back to the hotel room as my boyfriend drove, I started sketching out what I had seen, drawing the images that had been burned into my memory. Images that fueled ideas, beauty and inspired my pencil to move. Like so...