ARTIST DOUG LAZARUS presents the 4-foot-by-8-foot painting he created with Otter Valley Union High School students AJ French, left, Sienna Torres and Ivy Manchester, along with 12 other OV students. The painting was recently hung on the side of the River Pub & Grill in downtown Brandon.
Photo by Dakota Rider
BRANDON — A large mural painted by 15 Otter Valley Union High School students under the tutelage of Brandon artist Doug Lazarus recently went on display in downtown Brandon.
The Vermont-inspired scene of a trout jumping out of a stream painted on a 4-foot-by-8-foot panel was formally introduced to the community on Tuesday, Dec. 17, when it was hung on the side of the River Pub & Grill at 18 Center St.
“I really liked the other students I was working with,” said Otter Valley junior Sienna Torres, who was one of the artists. “We all had some pretty creative art styles that all worked together. We took a lot of time to work on it and I’m very excited with the outcome.”
For three days a week between Oct. 22 and Nov. 19, on different days depending on everyone’s schedule, all of the high school art students in grades 9-12 were invited to high school art teacher Dakota Rider’s classroom to paint together, with students from art teacher Tiffany St. Michaud’s high school classes.
“It was nice to combine our high school classes,” Rider said. “It built up positivity in our school, and building up the art program especially — the kids are wanting to be in here.”
Of the 15 students participating, three standout students who helped the most were senior Ivy Manchester, Torres and ninth-grader AJ French.
Lazarus, 81, kicked off the undertaking by projecting onto the panel a watercolor rendering of the concept of his making. Under the artist’s professional supervision, students were assigned sections to work on while he painted the fish and waterfall.
“I integrated what they did with my work and it just blended together. You don’t know who was the professional and who was the student,” Lazarus said. “The kids are all really nice with each other and this project puts a nice shine on the high school. It’s a great school and Dakota is terrific.”
Manchester said she gained a lot from the experience.
“I’m used to painting a smaller things, so working on something that big was a change of pace but it was really interesting and really fun,” she said. “And coming in on the last day, seeing it all finished, was amazing.”
Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins noted that the arts have been good to Brandon.
“And this is a great opportunity for community involvement,” he added
The mural was unveiled during the OVUHS art show on Dec 11 in the lobby of the Brandon school.
“It was great to see the kids dragging their parents over to ‘look what we did with Doug!’ They were all happy, and all three principals were, too,” Rider said.
The owner of the building at 18 Center St., Sharon McCabe, gave permission for the mural to be permanently installed and made a contribution. Lazarus also partnered with the Hills and Hollows Fund and Bar Harbor Bank, with additional financial support from OVUHS. The panel was donated by Brandon Ace Hardware.
“I loved working with the kids and I can see the appeal of being an art teacher. It’s the one class where you’re told, ‘Whatever you think is right.’ How can you be upset with that?” Lazarus commented.
The mural was installed by Brent Casey with the help of Rob Cecot, local friends of Lazarus.
