Sylvan Lake’s downtown is now a little bit brighter with the addition of a mural.
The large piece by Jaimie Cooney entitled “Here Comes the Sun” is spread across the side of the old Bonavista Fine Art gallery on Centennial Street.
Cooney, who painted the mural in a little over a week, says the goal for the mural was to be bright, colourful and funky.
“We were working with sort of the idea of a geometric design and so I wanted it to be sort of a scrapbook of all that you might think of when you think of Sylvan Lake and so it’s all of those elements collaged together,” explained Cooney.
The mural depicts images such as a mermaid, a lighthouse and some waves, alongside phrases like “Life is Better at the Lake”.
The artist picked up the skill of mural painting while building sets for the Jubilation Dinner Theatre.
“You got to go big, make it bold,” she said.
The mural is part of the Town of Sylvan Lake’s Cultural Master Plan and Cooney was asked to do the mural after painting windows for the Town last year.
Kristen Shima, culture coordinator, recreation, culture and tourism for the Town, says there have been areas in need of revitalization identified by Cultural Master Plan with the downtown area being one of them.
“As part of creating a cultural space and environment a mural was selected to be placed downtown, so we’re hoping to continue on with that,” said Shima.
Cooney says she was “excited” to be a part of the project and she hopes the Town does more.
“I just hope that people take their picture with it and they get it on their Instagram and their social media and that they just enjoy it,” she added.