Squamish’s Stanley Matwychuk says he is waging a war on blah, monochrome surfaces.
Matwychuk is a mural painter and is planning to paint a Water Wall on the north wall of the Centennial Way underpass on Highway 99.
“I kind of have a personal vendetta against taupe,” he said. “That horrible beige colour that seems to be everywhere.”
The mural will be of fish running up the river, he said.
“The fish are swimming up the river and from the fish eye view you are kind of looking up,” he said, describing his vision for the large cement wall.
There will be a couple of students from the Squamish Youth Resource Centre who will help with the painting, he said, and the students will get an honorarium for their work.
Depending on weather, Matwychuk hopes to be out painting starting this week.
He said he has received a grant for the work from the Squamish Arts Council and plans to do a few murals around Squamish.
“I have always liked what big images can impart and how they can create a community space, and I just really enjoy painting,” he said. “They liven up the area.”
Murals can reflect what Squamish is all about, according to Matwychuk.
“These kind of projects can really get people fired up about their surroundings,” he said.
And of course because the wall will be visible to passersby, the mural will also engage tourists.
“When people travel through, they can see that there is life there – there is actually some energy directed towards a communication or dialogue.”
The Water Wall project is scheduled to be complete in time for the Squamish Wind Festival, which blows in July 24 to 26.
