As the weather turned cold, the sunflowers came out. A brand new, 16 ft.-wide mural now graces the southern wall of the Stop & Shop building on King Street, Sturgeon Falls. On Saturday, November 28th, the Sturgeon Falls beautification team of Gayle Primeau and Stuart Seville proudly mounted the latest addition in their ongoing effort to turn the downtown core into an outdoor gallery.
This two-panel work of art was painted by Lori Delorme. It features large sunflowers in the foreground and a forest in the background. Up close, viewers will see the butterflies and bees and hummingbirds that give the painting additional life.
Lori Delorme has been fascinated for some time with the efforts going on around town, so when Primeau called to ask if she would participate, she jumped at it. “It’s funny because the summer before I’d take walks with my sister; we’d go downtown and we’d see all these murals. I’d say, ‘Oh, That’s really cool’. I told her I’d like to maybe try that, maybe help with something. Not long after Gayle called me up.”
Delorme doesn’t really know who called Primeau to speak of her interest in art. “I’ve loved art all my life. If I wasn’t singing and dancing, it was painting, drawing… I don’t have much work out in public; I just do it and have fun, and gave art as gifts, or paint for myself. I’ve never done a big piece like this – I was kind of leery. I thought, ‘Oh wow, maybe I can help someone do a mural’.”
While Delorme was nervous about taking on the job, not sure of her own skills, she is pleased with the outcome. “I didn’t expect to do a whole mural by myself, but I ended up doing that and I enjoyed it. I was a little intimidated at first, but once I started I got so many positive remarks. It gives you a boost and I kept saying, ‘Don’t screw it up!’ But with paint you can always paint over it. At the end of doing this mural I just wanted it to be finished and to look good.”
