The last sign painter in Butler County
It wasn’t the historical significance of Marquis de Lafayette and his visit to Butler in 1825 that compelled artist Jill Welsh to come out of her retirement from painting murals to work on a new one on the Butler County Symphony Orchestra Association. It was the painting that Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse Code, had made of Lafayette that got her excited to create her own interpretation on the wall facing Diamond Park.
The painting, created the same year that Lafayette came to Butler, depicts the subject with an interesting facial expression that Welsh said looked like it would be fun to paint herself.
“I thought, ‘Look at that face,’” Welsh said. “I’m so excited.”
Although the mural will be Welsh’s first since 2016 — when she worked with the Butler County Historical Society and the Walldogs to paint 10 around Butler — Welsh said she thinks it will be her last.
She expects it to take about two days to complete, but with the paint and materials she plans to use, it will last a long time and stay in good condition throughout.
“People don’t live forever, but murals kind of do,” Welsh said.
Even if the Lafayette mural is Welsh’s last, it probably won’t be the last one she affects. The “ghost wall” mural is part of the work Welsh considers her favorite, the Sprite Boy Coca-Cola mural on North McKean Street. The ghost wall is a stylistic tribute to the faded wall advertisements that can still be found on Butler walls. It features the names of as many deceased sign painters from the county that the Walldogs could find.
So, when Welsh meets her end, her name will be added to that wall, which is also a tribute to her childhood.
“Ever since I was little, I was always curious about that sign,” Welsh said of a Coca-Cola ad she saw as a child.
Welsh also said the second-last Butler County member of the Letterheads, an organization made up of sign painters, died last year, making her the last one living in the county. She explained that the Letterheads sort of combined with the Walldogs, because of the dwindling number of professional sign painters in the U.S.
But Welsh said she still paints signs regularly, mainly as a hobby and for people who want a creative piece for a special occasion. She said one of the more common jobs she does now is painting novelty signs for car shows, which are frequently humorous and stylized.
The Lafayette mural will also be a stylized adaptation of Morse’s painting, which Welsh said will be outlined in a four-by-six panel on the wall of the Butler County Symphony Association to be painted for real. Welsh will use a latex-based paint, which unlike the lead-based paints of the 20th century and before, won’t fade away when the weather starts affecting the wall.
She said her process helps a mural withstand the test of time. The 10 murals the Walldogs painted in 2016 were made with this method, according to Welsh.
“I tape it to the wall and pound chalk through it,” Welsh said, describing her process of painting on brick. “It never stops looking cool, even if it fades.”
Mackenzie Herold, executive director of the Butler County Historical Society, said the Lafayette mural was Welsh’s idea, but she and the other administrators of the organization were supportive of her plan. Herold said the historical society is helping with some of the behind-the-scenes work to get the mural in place, like communicating with City of Butler officials, as well as administrators of the symphony orchestra association.
“We approached the symphony and said they would love to do a mural,” Herold said. “We’re really excited about it.”
Herold also said the attendance for the Walldogs mural tour Saturday, Sept. 19, led organizers to consider hosting the tour again in the coming years. However, talks are still unfolding.
And although Herold wasn’t with the historical society in 2016 when the murals went up around Butler, she said they have remained popular. The historical society’s website has a page dedicated to providing information about the original 10.
The weeklong process of painting the Butler murals remains a good memory for Welsh, who said many of the artists created great work alongside residents of the city. They all volunteered their time to create public art.
Welsh said the project is still talked about among the Walldogs, especially the ones who worked on the murals. She said she brought a Letterheads conference to Butler in 2000, and she still travels the nation to attend group events planned by the organization.
Like the Letterheads, who shared a love for what Welsh said is becoming “the lost art of gilding,” members of the Walldogs also have a common ground in mural painting. She explained that most members of the Walldogs put up with difficult conditions to provide public art in communities across the nation.
“It can be hot and sweaty when you’re up there painting a wall,” Welsh said. “That’s why they call them ‘Wall dogs.’”
Welsh said the mural was approved for the city. However, it will probably be done in the spring when conditions are more ideal for painting.
