Massive mural brightens Sanford’s historic district
There’s something new beckoning passersby off the beaten path in downtown Sanford.
“Sanford is home to a lot of cool alleyways,” said Bailey Wight, gallery manager for Gallery on First, which includes Jeanine Taylor Folk Art. The alley next to the gallery, off First Street in the heart of Sanford’s historic district, just got a whole lot cooler: A 63-foot mural stretching alongside the art gallery’s external wall will be officially unveiled Saturday night.
Designed by retired Disney artist Mark Seppala, a Sanford resident, the Beatles-inspired mural explodes with color — and has a nod to the Seminole County city’s history with depictions of celery. The mural, on the west side of what is known as the Hotchkiss Building, is the first such piece of public art to be created for the downtown historic district.
“I’ve always been a Beatles fanatic,” said Seppala, who saw the band in concert three times while in high school. The animation in the Beatles’ 1968 film “Yellow Submarine” particularly captivated the artist.
“I just loved all the artwork, the objects, the backgrounds,” Seppala said. The Sanford mural pays tribute to the color palette and design work of “Yellow Submarine” artist Heinz Edelmann — but with local tweaks. Besides the nod to Sanford’s celery-producing past, the mural also celebrates the city’s burgeoning arts scene.
There’s an interactive element, too, with the face of Gallery on First “celebrity” Louie — a French bulldog — hidden throughout the mural in a game of “Where’s Louie?”
The alleyway, between the gallery and Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café, has been the site of temporary murals before, but with more gatherings taking place outside in the age of coronavirus, the time seemed right to make permanent improvements.
“We said, ‘Hey, we should just run with this and make it an event space,’ “Wight said. “I can see a band playing there … I feel like the possibilities are endless.”
The building’s owner, Orlando lawyer Howard Marks, was on board.
“That made it really easy,” Wight said. “He was very helpful and very into the idea.”
City permitting took some time, Wight said, in part because the new artwork is the first in the city’s historic district. But it likely won’t be the last.
“The Public Art Commission is working to create a public art master plan which will identify key locations throughout the city conducive for public art, including murals,” wrote city planner Sabreena Colbert.
Others interested in creating a mural or another form of art should contact the Public Art Commission, wrote chairman Virginia Poe.
“We also have murals in other areas of Sanford and welcome the beauty they bring to the citizens of those neighborhoods,” Poe wrote. “Art enriches everyone.”
A team of 10-12 artists have been painting Seppala’s design “off and on” this month, sometimes perched 30 feet in the air on a “scissors-lift” aerial work platform. “You have to learn to like each other because it gets kind of tight,” Seppala joked.
Creating the mural has been a community effort, Wight said,
with about $2,000 to pay for the paint raised through an online crowdsourcing fundraiser. The artists volunteered their time.
“They are all doing this out of the kindness of their hearts,” Wight said, “to make the arts scene flourish in our town.”
The mural’s official unveiling will be 6-8 p.m. Nov. 21 during Sanford’s monthly Art Walk. Food and drink will be available from neighboring Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café.
“Hopefully, this is going to encourage other businesses in Sanford to do their own thing,” said Seppala, who for decades led the art department for Disney
theme-park, cruise-line and other merchandise. “There are walls screaming for art.” As for his own mural? “When people walk by it, I want them to smile,” he said.
Find me on Twitter @ matt_on_arts or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Want more news of theater and other arts? Go to OrlandoSentinel. com/arts