Love Letter to Wittenberg

This mural was painted by Carole Bersin of Sandstone, MN on the side of the Sport & Spine Clinic at 105N Genesee Street.

Though I hail from Minnesota I have always loved the Wisconsin landscape. With it’s rolling hills dotted with farms and forests, your eyes rest as they travel over one hill to another, feeling a sense of peacefulness and home. So when WOW told me that the subject for the Sport and Spine mural was to be a pastoral scene of the Wisconsin countryside surrounding Wittenberg I was delighted to take it on.

My original plan was to keep it simple. Use broad shapes, simple colors and not too much detail. Ha! I should know by now that my greatest joys in painting come when I get inside the mural and paint all those little details. I kept the elements and colors of the landscape simple, resulting in a mural that when seen from a distance is a fine picture but when you take the time to get up close there is so much more.

With this being my third Wittenberg mural and being the detail oriented painter that I am, I have spent a fair amount of time here. I have grown to love this town and it’s pleasant, welcoming demeanor as much as any place I’ve been. As the mural came to life on the wall, it became my “Love Letter to Wittenberg.”

I could easily have spent a few more weeks adding details. More birds and farms, an old Farmall tractor working a field, ducks in the pond, but there comes a point when the artist has to step away from the wall. My time in Wittenberg was coming to a close. To help me wrap it up I called in WOW artist Alicia Rheal and Madison based artist Ingrid Kallick for the last few days. It was Alicia that painted the wonderful portrait of Pepper, my beloved pup and mural sidekick who passed away last fall.

As always I thank the WOW committee and the people of Wittenberg for being such great hosts, with a special thanks to Joan at Sport and Spine for her patience and to the crew at the Wittenberg Family Restaurant for being my Wittenberg family when I came in to eat every day.

With love to you all,

Carole Bersin