Two more murals near completion in Murray Hill
Willink and Martin’s mural at Edgewood Avenue and Post Street
The second and third of four murals planned for Murray Hill will be finished in time for the community’s 100th anniversary celebration this month, according to Jason Tetlak, project director and secretary for Murray Hill Preservation Association.
A community block party is planned for the 900 block of Edgewood Avenue, with live music, food trucks and more, beginning at 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17.
The mural project began earlier this year with a call to artists. The first mural, designed by New York artist Jon Burgerman, was painted by Lee High School art teacher Anne Jacques and former art students on the side of the Murray Hill Theatre building, next to the Esquire Barber Shop; it was completed in late July.
The second mural, in progress on the side of the Grater Goods Cheese and Charcuterie store at 1080 Edgewood Avenue, was designed by Britt Spencer, a newcomer to Jacksonville, coming from Savannah by way of his recent marriage to Shannon Snow, a graphic designer and illustrator for Natural Life magazine.
An illustrator and a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Spencer hopes to find a home in Riverside. In the meantime, he’ll spend weekends in Murray Hill on his mural project.
Spencer is using acrylic house paint to apply his mural with brushes and rollers. His 15-foot high by 120-foot wide mural depicts a marching band and will be seen on the side of Grater Goods.
“I want to be involved in the art community here,” said Spencer, “so I put myself out there for this mural project.”
Murray Hill’s third mural was designed by two Riverside artists, Kate Willink and Brenna Martin. It is in progress at the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Post Street on the side of Tradewinds. The 52×16-foot mural uses eight distinct colors to combine an abstract of native Florida foliage with the word “GROW” in large, uppercase letters.
“We find nature worthy of inspiring our great community to reach out full potential here in Murray Hill,” said Willink and Martin in their proposal to the Murray Hill Preservation Association.
Both artists attended Flagler College and hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design; Willink also has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the same college, and Martin minored in Fine Arts. They work together at First in Print and both love living in Riverside.
“It feels like one of the major art centers of northeast Florida,” said Willink, who prefers to support local businesses. “You really don’t have to leave Riverside.”
“It has an up and coming vibe, open to creativity,” agreed Martin. “I also like the contrast between history and growth.”
The call for an artist to design the fourth mural has not yet been extended, according to Tetlak, but he indicated two businesses have expressed interested in hosting it.
By Kate A. Hallock
Resident Community News
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