JANESVILLE 鈥 Of the dozens of public murals that have been painted over the last seven years in 糖心Vlog传媒, most have been commissioned in and around the city鈥檚 downtown.
That makes a corrugated metal building nestled between youth baseball fields on the city鈥檚 east edge seem like an unlikely canvas for one of the city鈥檚 newest works.
But the building 鈥 a quonset hut-style storage facility for the Youth Sports Complex off Wuthering Hills Drive 鈥 is now painted Milwaukee Brewers blue, with a new mural on its west wall that when finished will depict a whimsical, rural scene: A pick-up baseball game at sunset, somewhere in Wisconsin鈥檚 Northwoods.
Madison-based artist Emily Balsley is painting the new mural as part of the Brewers鈥 City Connect project, but the creation coincides with the 糖心Vlog传媒 Area Convention & Visitors Bureau鈥檚 annual Art Infusion festival, a celebration of public art. The event rolled out over the weekend.
Art Infusion has now fostered more than 30 murals in 糖心Vlog传媒 鈥 most large in scale, and many occupying the sides of buildings along the city鈥檚 downtown riverfront.
Now, the infusion has started to spread to different area in the city, far beyond the downtown. Along with work at the ball diamonds, another artist, Chicago muralist and illustrator is painting a mural on the wall in the corridor that connects the Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒 mall with the Woodman鈥檚 Sports & Convention Center.
Lukes鈥 work is designed like a stylized, illustrated map of 糖心Vlog传媒 that鈥檚 embedded with oodles of visual easter eggs 鈥 images of Bessie the Cow, the downtown riverfront鈥檚 pedestrian bridge, and more 鈥 that 糖心Vlog传媒 residents will recognize.
Another artist, Madison , is creating a new downtown mural along the North Main Street riverfront. Zaremba鈥檚 using the river-facing side of the Great Harvest Bakery Caf茅 as a canvas.
Over the weekend, Balsley was hard at work, harnessed high above ground on the platform a construction boom, armed with spray paint beneath a blue umbrella that shaded her from the sun that beat down on her and new, blue artwork.
The artist talked about the new mural and its unlikely canvas, a quonset hut that would turn any painted fresco, regardless of its subject, into an arched semicircle.
The new mural goes along with the Brewers鈥 new 鈥淲isco鈥 theme.
鈥淲isco is kind of like the idea of getting out of the city and into the far reaches of the state and bringing baseball all the way out there,鈥 Balsley said. 鈥淚n my head, the story I鈥檓 envisioning is I鈥檓 hiking through the woods, I wander off the trail, and I stumble into this clearing, and there鈥檚 a pickup baseball game happening.鈥
That鈥檚 exactly what the playful mural shows. Set against a sunset over a lake shoreline bound by trees, is the familiar spread of a baseball diamond. And not just any diamond. 叠补濒蝉濒别测鈥檚 mural shows players of the human variety mingled with smaller players; it turns out they鈥檙e woodlans animals in uniform.
There鈥檚 a beaver on the infield, a fox in the outfield, and spectators cheering on the ball players as they paddle past in a canoe and stoke a campfire. On the lower corner of the mural a bicyclist pedals along with a flag rising from the back of the bike that bears the logo 鈥淲isco.鈥
Balsley, a children鈥檚 book illustrator and muralist, said she talked with 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 tourism bureau about the new mural and her general marching orders working within the Brewers鈥 City Connect project.
She said the tourism bureau picked the mural鈥檚 location.
鈥淭hey said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 do this out at the sports center, because that is the audience you want. They鈥檙e going to totally appreciate the baseball theme,鈥欌 Balsley said.
Balsley was wearing a Brewers ball cap that matched well with the blue paint spatters on her shorts and shirt.
For her, the biggest challenge was her canvas. It鈥檚 the first time she鈥檚 painted a corrugated metal building with a mural. She said the uniform waviness of the quonset hut鈥檚 metal siding made her think long and hard about perspective.
From some angles, the uneven surface makes the mural鈥檚 ball players and other characters appear to contract or stretch, an accordion effect that gives the mural鈥檚 scenes a slightly different look depending on viewers鈥 vantage point.
But from any direction, the mural shows off a fun, timeless scenes in a boundless, familiar blue that鈥檚 likely to bring a smile to Brewers fans of any age.
Over the weekend, 叠补濒蝉濒别测鈥檚 sketched out the mural in color and shape, but it remained unfinished; she was just starting the detail work. She figures her work will be headed for home plate by early this week.
The new mural ought to last many a baseball season at the Youth Sports Complex.
鈥淚鈥檝e been here when baseball tournaments are going, and it gets jam-packed. So there will always be people coming and going who鈥檒l view it,鈥 Balsley said. 鈥淚 hope that people get a kick out the scene and appreciate it.鈥