A famous artist based in Richmond and Amsterdam recently completed a new mural in Harrisonburg. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
[sound of street noise, spray paint]
Nils Westergard's bold, dripping, multi-story portraiture adorns buildings in Waynesboro and Richmond, and those as far away as Switzerland and Portugal. His latest work, finished this weekend on Mason Street in Harrisonburg, depicts a contemplative man bathed in moonlight, chess pieces levitating from his fingertips. The image started out as a studio painting of –
NILS WESTERGARD: My friend, Michael. Lives in Oregon Hill in Richmond. When I was living in Richmond full time, I played chess with him every week, every Wednesday night for years. … I just always wanted it to be on a wall. It's so tall and kind of grand, he's got these floating chess pieces and stuff.
Last week's gale-force winds were a challenge to work through.
WESTERGARD: The lift didn't come 'til kind of late, so started on Tuesday, and then Wednesday was a wash because of the wind. … I mean, it was crazy. All this stuff was flying everywhere, the cones were flying everywhere. … Large paint spill on the ground there is from a five gallon bucket, picked up with one of these drop cloths and just [splat sound].
Next on his docket?
WESTERGARD: Back to Richmond whenever I'm done for a couple days, and then back to Amsterdam – it's tulip season! See all the flowers and take my little jolly bike rides. … And then in May, I'm off to Basel in Switzerland, and then from there to Berlin.
He's also finishing a book three years in the making, featuring 50 paintings of Amsterdammers on bikes. And listeners may remember that when Westergard spoke with WMRA two years ago, he was looking for the side of a barn to paint here in Virginia. He's still in the market for that barn.
