Restoration & Revival

Murals by Alan Clough

RESTORATION

My mural, entitled “Restoration”, depicts a building front from the 1900’s. The bottom half of the building, that I was asked to paint, was remodeled in the 1980’s. In the remodel, new windows, doors, Tudor style boards and paneling were added. These additions did not really compliment the upper story of the building, which has some very intricate and very interesting brick work.

There were many comments made to me about how beautiful the upper story was, so I decided that the only mural that would work was one that integrated the upper and lower stories.

After the Tudor style boards were removed from the paneling, the building was ready to paint. At first glance, you might think that nothing has been painted but after a second look, the painting is evident. I used a trompe-l’oeil technique to create a mural that is as realistic as possible. The painted windows, doors and brick fool the eye into thinking that they are really there. It is difficult to see where the old building ends and the mural begins. The mural may be missed because of its realistic appearance.

The painted windows and doors are filled with objects that might have been in a lawyer’s office in the 1920’s and 1930’s. A steaming cup of coffee left on the roll top desk, a telephone off the hook, a leaking fountain pen, which has ruined a sheet of paper or document, and a person walking into a back room, make the viewer wonder what is going on? It appears that the lawyer has had a very challenging start to his day. There are many scenarios that might be playing out, you decide!!!!

REVIVAL

The small one-story addition to the right of the main brick building was also remodeled in the 1980’s. Originally, I had planned to continue the restoration mural across both buildings, but because of the window and door arrangement, this was impossible. The addition had changed too much from its original design. The remodel was just too modern for me to make it look like a restored building. I decided to paint a mural that looked like a 1950’s remodel.

In an era of satellites, rockets and large-finned cars, architecture took on a space-age style. I attempted to give the building the look of a newly remodeled store front from the late 1950’s. The use of geometric shapes, cement blocks, mirrors and a star-burst shaped door knob help give the feel of a 1950’s design.

Because both murals tend to blend with the surrounding buildings and are sometimes overlooked, you may have to search for them. Don’t miss them on your way through Wittenberg.