Walldogs welcome dinner not like watching paint dry
LYNDORA — For the past few years, 9-year-old Nora Hancock has wanted to join her father on his trips across the nation to paint murals.
This year, Doug Hancock felt she was ready, and brought her with him to Butler, where he'll be working as a Walldog for the next four days as part of a 10-mural project around the downtown area.
“I knew she could hack it and she was down for the work now,” he said.
Nora helped her father on a previous mural project, and the two will primarily work on the General Richard Butler mural on 242-246 S. Main St. at The Butler Eagle.
“I'm excited about painting on the mural and helping to tell about the town's history,” she said.
Doug and Nora Hancock, of Alachua, Fla., are just a few of the host of muralists who were at Wednesday's dinner at Tanglewood Center to kick off the Walldogs festivities.
The muralists received a warm welcome from Butler citizens and government officials, including Butler County Commissioner Kim Geyer.
“You're leaving a lasting imprint, literally, on our county, on our buildings, and our spaces there throughout Butler County, and we really appreciate it because it's showing our younger generation what our roots were and what we represent best here in Butler County,” Geyer said.
Jack Cohen, president of Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, also had warm words for the Walldogs.
“What you paint on our buildings is the history of our community,” he said. “It's the fabric of our community and the people that came before all of us. So we thank you for that.”
Cohen also thanked Pat Collins, executive director of the Butler County Historical Society, which was responsible for bringing the Walldogs to Butler.
Doug Hancock, in turn, had kind words for being in Butler.
“It's giving back,” Hancock said. “Each one of these is a charitable type of thing that we can do. It's public art. It does cost the town some money, but it's a fraction of what full commission murals would cost. To do that once a year, to do what I've been taught, it's like blessing the city with a little gift.”
Hancock also spoke of the historical significance of the murals.“Every time we do this we have people coming up telling us more about the wall than we've even been told by the historical society,” he said. “And then you have the young ones that have no idea what happened there with the history of the town, so you have this generational bridging that's happening. It's really interesting.”Hancock wasn't the only Floridian at Wednesday's dinner. Tom Paux and Aaron Taylor of Pensicola, Fla., also are in town to paint. They'll be working on the Butler Brewing Co. mural at Butler Brew Works at 101 S. Main St.It's Taylor's third time and he convinced Paux, a first-time Walldog, to come along. Both are excited to be around other artists.“It's a gathering of like-minded people,” he said.Dennis Raap, of Coopersville, Mich., has been a Walldog for nearly a decade. He enjoys seeing old friends.“Plus, I enjoy the painting,” he said. “It's a good place to learn technique.”Wednesday night closed with the artists showing projections of what the murals will look like on each wall.Hancock was ready to start painting after seeing the image of Richard Butler projected on the wall.“We're excited to work,” he said of himself and Nora. “We're excited to see it come together. We can't wait to see how it comes out.”
