Carthage, Missouri: Andy Thomas
Painter Andy Thomas grew up in Carthage, Missouri, so when he was asked to create a mural for the city on the side of a building, he knew immediately that he had answer the call.
The mural, measuring 27 by 44 feet, would appear on the side of a building near the city’s center. “Carthage has this beautiful old square with a magnificent courthouse,” Thomas says. “Where I’m putting the mural, there once was a building there but it was destroyed by fire. It was a huge eyesore, so they asked if I could help the whole town and create something special for that space.”
Thomas’ vision, which was approved by the city, shows children and families playing on the courthouse lawn. In the sky above the scene are portraits of famous people from Carthage’s history: baseball player Carl Hubbell; zoologist and TV host Marlin Perkins; Annie Baxter, the first woman elected to a political office in Missouri; actor David Newell; ragtime musician James Scott; astronaut Janet Kavandi; and NFL star Felix Wright. On the far left side of the work, is a scaffold holding the artists who are “painting” the mural: Lowell Davis, Jerry Ellis, Sam Butcher, Bob Tommey, Bill Snow and, with his back to the viewer, Thomas.
While the artists and the famous residents are rendered in Thomas’ realistic style, the courthouse scene is more playful and colorful. “It’s kind of a comic-book style done in pen and ink and watercolor. I wanted that part to have a fantasy kind of look to it,” Thomas says. “I was thinking about the children and them really being drawn to this kind of artwork.”
Thomas painted the mural in separate pieces, and then scanned them into a computer so they could be merged together digitally. Once the final image was completed, it was approved by the city and then sent to Spain, where it will be printed onto 19-inch tiles and then baked to lock in the color. Once all the tiles return to Carthage, they will be installed on the wall for permanent display.
“I wanted to do something really special for my hometown,” Thomas says. “It was a lot of fun, and I hope the residents enjoy it.”
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