In the last 10 days, the chipped wall has slowly turned into a work of art.
Three artists spent the past week and a half creating a mural outside High Dive, a bar and concert venue in downtown Gainesville.
The subject of the piece is a local schoolteacher.
“We wanted to paint the most beautiful woman we know,” said Jesus Martinez, one of the three artists.
Stephanie Lee, an Alachua County teacher, captured both the inner and outer beauty the artists were looking for, said Carrie Watcher Martinez, another muralist.
Between a forest of trees and hanging moss, Lee stands in the center holding a galaxy of blues, greens and yellows. The mural is titled “Center of it All.” It was painted in response to an art project that brought international artists to Gainesville called 352walls.
“We wanted to bring a little balance to the equation,” Jesus said.
Since the 352walls project is focused largely on international artists, there are few murals painted by locals.
“It’s the artists who live here and know Gainesville that have their fingers on the pulse of what truly defines Gainesville,” said Tim Malles, who painted the galaxy.
The High Dive wall was originally primed and painted for an international artist, but he canceled. As a result, the bar reached out to Jesus and Carrie, and they eagerly began the mural, Watcher said. They agreed to do the work for free and set out on the 10-day project.
Six days were spent on Lee’s face, and details of painted owls and egrets fill the wall. The work involved conquering fears, Carrie said, as she described having to paint from a three-story scaffolding.
“Lee is somebody that’s worth being on a three-story building,” she said.
The artists know Lee through a local gym, Visionary CrossFit, which Jesus and Carrie own. Carrie said Lee has had incredible reactions from her friends and students.
At first her students didn’t believe her, she said, but once she showed her students pictures, they were so impressed, Carrie said.
The artists said they’ve heard nothing but positive responses.
“There’s a constant distraction of people offering feedback as we were painting,” Malles said. “The piece became a live performance, and we took that energy and put it right into our work.”
Madison Hart, a UF sustainability and the built environment senior, said she was impressed by the work and how it represents Gainesville’s eclectic community.
“It’s bringing people happiness,” she said. “Lee is not somebody that would be a normal hero.”
Carrie said her favorite moment of creating the piece was when a woman stopped her to tell her the mural was just what she needed at that point in her life.
“Seeing on a personal level how our art impacted her is what makes it all worth it,” she said.
The artists told stories of people passing by yelling “nice work,” “love it” and “cheers.”
“When we created this mural we wanted to create something beautiful and inspiring that Gainesville could be proud of,” Jesus said.
With just a couple finishing details left, the mural is almost complete.
“I might add a deer,” Carrie said. “Oh, and we still need to sign it.”
