Mural artist Paul Archer completed a large mural on a building’s side at 100 Burnside Rd. on Wednesday (June 23).
An artist since age three and airbrushing for 35 years, Arc her was commissioned by the Gorge Tillicum Community Association to create the piece of public art. Starting on June 16, Archer worked eight-hour days and finished the mural in just a week.
The association financed the project with previous Canada Day revenue and a GoFundMe page – it had raised $4,555 of its $7,000 goal as of midday Thursday – and was surprised by how quickly Archer completed the mural.
“The thing is, it didn’t take me six days,” said Archer. “It took me 35 years. It’s knowing what to do, knowing your steps, having a good crew, having the right equipment, having the right [weather conditions] in your favour, all of those things.”
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The mural depicts a girl cherishing a sunflower with a bumblebee buzzing nearby. The girl is a combination of five different pictures of children, as Archer felt not basing the image off one particular child would make the piece appeal to a wider range of children.
Although fake sunflowers have temporarily been placed in the foreground of the mural, Archer hopes to plant real sunflowers there to add to the artwork. He intends for the piece to garner community involvement and interaction through sunflower planting, ultimately causing “a beautiful ripple effect.”
“I like to bring positive messages out and, fortunately for me [amid] how crazy the world is right now, I’m able to put up my own big messages of positivity.”
To see more of Archer’s work, visit coroflot.com/paularcher.
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