Brownsville Mural Nearing Completion, Public Suggestions Bring Some Changes

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
If you haven't already noticed, one of Brownsville's most notable buildings is undergoing a facelift with a brand new mural, thanks to a couple of local organizations.

The Edmonson County Arts Guild and the Edmonson County Tourism Commission have teamed up to contract a well known regional artist, Casey Page, from Cardinal House Studios, for the mural that features Edmonson County highlights. The location is the law office of Gary Logsdon, formerly the old Western Auto building, which has been a staple of the Brownsville Square for decades.

According to Vanessa Ulm, Tourism Commission Director, the local Arts Guild reached out to Tourism with the idea of some sort of mural. After several discussions and brainstorming sessions, the decision was made to hire Mr. Page for the project.

"The two groups collaborated on locations and potential ideas, but then the Art Guild mentioned that they would like to bring in Casey Page, a local muralist, who has done tons of murals of varying degrees in surrounding cities and counties," Ulm said. "Tourism invited the Arts Guild to a tourism meeting, along with Casey Page, to discuss ideas and cost. At that point, we knew that we would like to split the mural cost amongst the two groups."

And the cost isn't just spare change. The project total is $10,000.

The Tourism Commission posted a rendering of the mural back to the Facebook Page in November, which was met with mixed reactions. Most everyone was in favor of a mural but the color scheme didn't go over with many social media users. Many comments suggested more blues and greens to reflect the river/lake scenario, instead of the reds and yellows, which many claimed looked more like the southwest and not Edmonson County.

"The design materialized by Casey Page after initial discussions with both the Art Guild and Tourism Commission on what encompasses our county," Ulm said. "We did not want to do a specific scene, but rather celebrate our county’s natural landscape and highlight the a few of our key offerings--paddling the Green and Nolin Rivers Blueway, KY’s first and only National Water Trail, horseback riding, etc.-- We wanted to do a classic vintage postcard aesthetic like you see on the vintage national park postcards. A few minor changes were recently made late in the process to accommodate some of the suggestions made by the public."

Mrs. Phyllis Miller, member of the Edmonson County Arts Guild and retired arts teacher at ECHS, said the Guild is currently raising money for their portion of the cost through fundraising and donations.

"We are pleased with what we raised in December but we need about $2,000 for what we owe," she said. "Any donations would be greatly appreciated, as we are still planning events to raise money."

Original rendering of the mural design, not yet painted. (EC Tourism)

Current progress with the Courthouse in the background.

Other murals from Casey Page:

Ulm said those minor changes were adding more blues and greens as well as featuring Dismal Rock. She said they were fortunate that Page was able to accommodate the changes since he hadn't progressed too far at the time of the change requests.

You can donate to the Edmonson County Arts Guild through Venmo @ecartsguild by clicking here.

The mural is expected to be complete by the end of this week, weather permitting. Rain and temperatures at freezing or below would obviously hinder that.