A spray-painted mural is underway in downtown Bangor and will be completed in early July.
Bangor Beautiful, a nonprofit aimed at beautifying the city through public art, trees and gardens, commissioned Jared Goulette to create a two-story mural on the side of 116 Hammond St., across from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office. Goulette, who goes by “The Color Wizard,” is a Maine-based professional spray paint artist.
The mural depicting Maine’s forest floor in spring, with a vernal pool and native flora and fauna, will be the latest made or commissioned by Bangor Beautiful. It is designed to educate people about the area’s natural ecosystem and environment, which is why fiddleheads, serviceberry branches and a wood frog are included.
“It’s about being aware of how lucky we are in Maine to have this nature around us and treating it with respect,” said Annette Sohns Dodd, the group’s president.
The artwork also encourages people to take a pause to enjoy something eye-catching in an urban area. It’s about “instilling pride” in Bangor residents, she said.
While the mural appeared to be far along Friday, it will be a few more weeks before the top coat of paint goes on, the artist’s name is signed and other details are finished. The mural will debut at an event that Bangor Beautiful is organizing, including a talk with Goulette.
Fiddleheads from Ostrich ferns and serviceberry were chosen for the mural because they are native to Maine, Dodd said. In May, Bangor Beautiful planted 17 serviceberry trees at the intersection of Hammond and Ohio streets. Vernal pools are critical to wood frogs that lay their eggs in them, so both elements appear in the mural.
The artwork will join the city’s first ground mural that debuted on Hammond Street earlier this month and other murals downtown. The ground mural portraying Katahdin, the Penobscot River, and native animals and crops was a collaboration with Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness.
“In Bangor, you can go from downtown to a walk on the Kenduskeag Stream Trail. In less than 10 minutes, you’re surrounded by nature, and that’s pretty amazing,” Dodd said.
Goulette’s mural celebrates that, she said.
