Maine exhibit lauds victim of mass shooting

WINSLOW, Maine — Peyton Brewer-ross was the life of the party, with wraparound sunglasses and an outlandish Randy “Macho Man” Savage Slim Jim jacket. He also was a Navy shipbuilder, the father of a 2-year-old girl and engaged to be married.

Brewer-ross, one of the 18 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history, was remembered during a weekend art exhibit dubbed, “There Goes My Hero: Chapter One: Peyton Brewer-ross.” The 40-year-old was playing cornhole with friends when he was gunned down Oct. 25 in Lewiston. Another 13 people were injured.

His fiancée, Rachael Sloat, said she curated the art exhibit “to shed a little light on just how fun and eclectic a man he truly was, and most importantly the hero he was and will always be to our daughter Elle.”

“I want Peyton to be remembered for all that he was and not boxed into any particular category, most especially this recent tragedy. Some people will remember him from cornhole, some will remember him as a pipe fitter, some will remember him for his Slim Jim jacket. Peyton was all of those things and so much more,” she wrote.

Sloat was a student of art professor Peter Precourt at the University of Maine at Augusta, who owns the gallery, Art:works on Main. She inspired Brewer-ross to take an art class at Southern Maine Community College.

She said she thought it’d be fun for people to see some of his paintings, and for others to join in. The artwork included a cornhole board decorated in Brewer-ross’ honor and drawings depicting him in his homemade, tasseled jacket that paid tribute to the flamboyant professional wrestler who appeared in ads for Slim Jim, one of Brewer-ross’ favorite snacks.

And Brewer-ross’ own work was also on display: his painting of a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer signed with his initials “PBR”; self-portrait in sunglasses and a cowboy hat; and, in a nod to his own sense of humor, a man holding aloft a pair of men’s white underwear.