Artist provides the ‘something special’ in Lisbon home project

PHOTO: The mural takes up a full wall in the second-floor sitting room of Charles Anthony’s mid-18th century home in Lisbon. (Submitted photo)

By Charles Anthony

Editor’s note: Mr. Anthony replied to our “show us what you’re doing during the pandemic” request last June with an account of the stenciling project in his mid-18th century house in Lisbon. Here’s an update.

LISBON — For more than four winters I have been returning the interior of my mid-18th century house to what it may have looked like circa 1890, with the fashions of one era passing to the next.
I have stenciled the 10 rooms extensively, but it needed the “something special.” The second floor sitting room has a 17-foot wall, blank save one window. So, my mind turned to a wall mural. I can, and have done, a small mural; but I sought better skill than mine.

Through some checking on Ebay, I found a professional early American artist, Susan Leach, of North Light Artisans in Rhode Island. An email exchange followed, and I found I could afford to hire the artist after all. We set a date when she would be again in Maine, and I went to work making all things ready. “Ready” meant buying five sheets of 3-by-32 hardboard panels, nailing them to the otherwise imperfect extant wall, filling the joints, and applying four coats of gesso (a type of special wall paint) to the wall. Then waiting for the date.
At long last, the date was here and at 9 a.m., Susan arrived, unloading three satchels. We retired to the second floor, she looked over the wall (it was her first done on gesso in in 22 years of this work), we discussed some elements of the work and she said “Got it.” She took out a worn $60 house painters brush, a roller tray, some cans of off the shelf acrylic paint, and began what can only be called magic.
I sat at the other end of the room in my Regency chair and watched skill, love, understanding and the innate gift of the gods in this art form unfold, as the sky, the clouds, the mountains, the fields, trees and everything else, appeared.
In the space of several hours, bushes and trees grew from the brush. Next, the house I own and love appeared in its 1886 vestments on the wall. Then some birds in the trees, a one-horse carriage in the yard and the crowing touch of genius.
I asked for a horse and the carriage in the image. “OK,” said she, and a daub of brown paint, a fine artist brush, and in five minutes appeared this happy brown horse, one leg cocked in joy, eating the grass!
At length it was done, she and I did an Inspection for things missing or needed. None were, so she packed her satchels, and left for Rhode Island. I went to sit and admire the Art. Now, by the medium of photography, you too can enjoy this mural.