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Local Muralist To Retouch South Padre Island Convention Center Wall
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1 Comments ::  :: South Padre Island |
The fish that swim about on the famous Wyland Whaling Wall on South Padre Island Convention Centre have been slowly fading, and so Harlingen artist Angel Hernandez was hired to fix the problem.
 In a project funded by the nonprofit South Padre Island Community Foundation, Hernandez is painting touchups to the increasingly faint mural, which has not been retouched for more than 13 years.
“It is the building’s 15th year anniversary, and we decided to give it a facelift,” said Connie Ledbetter, director of sales and marketing for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Wyland’s environmental artwork on the Convention Centre was number 53 of 100 murals the artist is painting at sites throughout the world. Because of Wyland’s commitments to wall number 95 in Key Largo, Fla., the local mural’s restoration lies in the paint brushes of Hernandez, officials said.
Hernandez began painting murals 16 years ago at a church in Mexico. After others noticed his paintings, they invited him to work at other churches. He enhanced his skill at the Bellas Artes School in Mexico before moving to Harlingen.
“I believe this talent is natural,” Hernandez said. His work includes a mural honoring Tom Landry outside of Texas State Bank in Mission, which stretches 98 feet by 18 feet. He’s completed more than 90 murals, including the indoor walls at the Treasures of the Gulf Museum in Port Isabel.
“Repainting the walls would make this project my biggest,” he said. The Wyland Whaling Wall measures 153 feet wide and stands 23 feet tall.
Last week, Hernandez worked with co-worker Jorge Flores to match Wyland’s painting. He said matching the lighting and dimensions of the underwater work was a two-man job.
Flores used a paint gun, which delivers large amounts of pigment, as Hernandez blended the colors to match the original painting. “Getting the color and lighting right on the animals underwater is what brings them to life,” he said.
Throughout his life as a painter Hernandez believes the most difficult aspect of painting would be replicating people.
“When you paint people, they have to be exact,” he said. “If any feature is off then you will not recognize them.” His most intricate and detailed piece of work consisted of three angels on a dome-shaped ceiling.
“That was difficult because of the position I was in for hours,” he said. Hernandez prefers painting murals of nature.
“Right now, I am working for a school in Brownsville painting a scene of the jungle,” he said. “And I am painting all types of animals, from gorillas to elephants.”
The restoration of the Wyland mural is scheduled to be completed next week. But Hernandez has plans for more. “I learn something new every time I paint,” he said.
By THERESA NAJERA/Island Breeze |
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BySam @
Monday, July 02, 2007 5:16 PM | |
This is a great mural! I've been looking for a muralist who can do something like this for my business. I found http://www.findamuralist.com , have you visited this site before, if so what do you think? I'm not sure if this would work for finding a muralist for my office. |
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