VERO BEACH — Members of the Vero Beach Art Club gathered Monday morning with Vero Beach officials to dedicate a hibiscus mural the club and volunteers spent two months painting along State Road 60 next to the Historic Diesel Plant at Commerce Avenue. It was the second of two presentations for the club and city, the first being the gift of a $700 check to the city’s Recreation Department, proceeds from the Under the Oaks Fine Art Show.
“This art club has been such a treasure for this community,” Mayor Pilar Turner said after the unveiling of the plaque dedicating the mural to the city from the Vero Beach Art Club.
Turner said that, aside from the mural and the check, the Vero Beach Art Club has been active in the community, supporting the arts. “They’re an incredible asset.”
The check, which was presented at the Vero Beach Community Center an hour before the mural dedication, will be used to purchase art supplies for the Recreation Department’s summer programs. The funds, too, will help cover the cost of the Mother-Daughter Tea Party coming up on May 12.
“There’s no way we could do anything like this,” said Vero Beach Public Works Director Monte Falls, looking over the mural as vehicles drove past on SR 60. He said the city itself does not have the resources to spruce up such public spaces on its own.
Already, he and others with the city – and the Vero Beach Art Club – are looking for other such endeavors. The next one could be the wall along eastbound SR 60 that masks the back side of the Miracle Mile shops leading to the Three Aves development.
This is the second time that the wall next door to the diesel plant has been painted. The first time was a hibiscus flower theme, something the city and club were keen on continuing.
“I learned a lot about hibiscus,” said Vero Beach Art Club member Karen Leffel-Massengill, who studied photos of hibiscus flowers in books and magazines at the Indian River County Library to make sure she got the plants right.
She sketched out on a long piece of brown paper the design that would become the mural and then drew it on the wall. She then marked numbers that corresponded to paint colors on the various segments, which allowed volunteers and members to fill in with paint.
“It was a good way to do it,” Leffel-Massengill said, though it took a fair amount of time to get the prep work done.
“It’s really fresh,” said former Vero Beach City Councilman Brian Heady of the mural. He had championed the painting of the mural both times. “I love it.”
Heady noted that the first time the wall was painted, each painter used their own vision and style for painting the flowers. By contrast, this time the mural has one cohesive vision and a sense of authenticity, he said.
Though nothing has been decided as of yet regarding the wall farther down on SR 60 near Indian River Boulevard, the Vero Beach Art Club is considering the possibility of painting an aquatic scene. If painting were to be approved and the club chosen to spearhead it, volunteers from the community at large would be encouraged to help participate.
Mayor Turner suggested that art clubs from the Vero Beach and Indian River Charter high schools might be interested in helping out as well.
Anyone interested in helping the Vero Beach Art Club or learning more about the organization are encouraged to contact the club by visiting www.VeroBeachArtClub.org or calling (772) 231-0303. The club is located at 3001 Riverside Park Dr., on the barrier island.
