Murals suggested as way to combat graffiti in
St. Catharines
New on the blog…. “Right now we’re having an explosion of murals, businesses have murals that have been popping up, what’s really cool, families have taken notice, it makes a cool community,” said Karl Vanderkuip…..
A local realtor is hoping that St. Catharines becomes a city of murals.
“Right now we’re having an explosion of murals, businesses have murals that have been popping up, what’s really cool, families have taken notice, it makes a cool community,” said Karl Vanderkuip.
His family recently sponsored the painting of a culvert headwall at the southern end of Walker’s Creek Trail along Linwell Road.
“This culvert has been an eyesore for years,” said Vanderkuip. “It’s been that classic battle of being tagged and the city coming over and painting it, being tagged again and graffitied — it’s just a perpetual cycle.
“We thought this is a great opportunity to see if we can combat graffiti or tagging with beautiful artwork and have it in our community.”
Painted dark blue with bright white and yellow flowers, the mural is a whimsical entrance into the park.
Vanderkuip said a local community member reached out noted that an artist was coming to town.
“So, on a whim, we reached out to mural artist Emilie Darlington.”
Darlington, from Ottawa, has painted murals across Ontario, often turning eyesores into points of interest.
“There is a coating on top, and the paint is set to last a long time,” said Vanderkuip.
“Artists, even taggers, are compelled to have an artistic impression, and they respect fellow artists.
“These are ways to combat graffiti. If we can get that message that murals are going to help beautify and combat graffiti, that’s a win-win for the community.”
He decided to create a blog to put all the murals in one spot, which is available from his real estate website.
Click Here Find the whole article.
By Bob TymczyszynStandard Photojournalist
