Chalk up another two outdoor wall murals for Magnetawan.
See: Magnetawan launches third gigantic outdoor mural project
The latest paintings are on the side of the Heritage Museum Centre and on the walls of the Magnetawan Community Centre and Lions Pavilion.
The 10 by 17 foot painting at the museum depicts a lighthouse on Lake Cecebe and the steamship Wenonah.
The mural at the pavilion covers four walls, is 10 feet high, 78 feet long and showcases all the activities that occur year-round at the outdoor facility.
The murals were made by Nomi Drory and her son Dan Drory-Lehrer.
Both murals represent the first time mother and son have collaborated on a municipal-sponsored project in Magenetawan. However Nomi Drory is no stranger when doing mural work for the municipality. Originally from Bolivia, Drory was raised in Israel. She made the move to Canada as an adult and lived in Toronto until December 2020 when she relocated to Magnetawan.
In 2021 when the municipality embarked on its exterior wall mural initiative, Drory was the first artist chosen to kickstart the multi-year project. She produced a 90-foot long mural on a retaining wall below the docks of the Magnetawan River which depicts the town's water history dating back to the 1800s
See: 90-foot art mural beautifies Magnetawan retaining wall
An artist from Toronto, Kristyn Watterworth, painted a mural on one wall of the Heritage Museum Centre in 2022 with Drory back this year.
The images mom and son painted at the pavilion are of people engaged in pickleball, archery, basketball, roller skating, ice hockey, and figure skating. There are also two musicians playing instruments to showcase that the pavilion is also the site of a farmer's market, and in addition to the vendors selling their goods, the event includes musicians to enhance the market experience.
Both artists collaborated on the draft drawings via the Internet because Drory-Lehrer was in Berlin at the time before arriving in Magnetawan.
“We bounced ideas off each other,” Drory-Lehrer said.
When the pair agreed on the look of the final images, Drory-Lehrer used his photography and Photoshop skills to render the drawings and the pair sketched the images on the four walls, and then the painting began.
Drory-Lehrer said a critical element of the images was to decide the precise poses they would place their characters in “so that we could show the most action and movement for each sport.”
For example with the basketball image, the artists had several poses they could have used from a player running and dribbling the ball to a free throw or the jump ball when players on both sides jump for the ball thrown up by the referee. But they settled on a female player jumping and throwing the ball toward the basketball hoop because it had the most action.
It also fits well with several slogans the artists created for several of the images.
Drory said the slogan they came up with for the basketball image was 'Reach For Your Goals' which was a play on words since the basketball player is in mid-air and reaching for the hoop.
'Aim High' is the slogan Drory said they created for the hockey player shooting a puck toward the net.
The mural also promotes the municipality with Laura Brandt, the town's Deputy Clerk suggesting the phrase #Magswhereitsat to enhance the town's online profile.
Drory says the pavilion artwork was not without its challenges. One of the walls supports a plaque dedicated to the Lions which recognizes the work they did to help create the pavilion. But on both sides of the plaque are the doors to the men's and women's washrooms.
“It was difficult to incorporate what to paint on this side,” Drory said.
But then the proverbial light bulb went off and Drory suggested they paint a man and woman on both sides of the plaque and position them like they are holding up the plaque.
The finished image draws attention away from the bathroom doors which otherwise would have interrupted the flow of images. Drory and Drory-Lehrer did the same thing on the fourth wall which depicts the winter activities but has a real bench placed up against it.
Mom and son painted one of their characters “sitting” on the bench lacing up roller skates while a hockey player holding a hockey stick is also painted “sitting” on the bench.
Mother and son worked on both murals throughout the summer and early fall and wrapped up their projects just ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend. They used acrylics and weather-sealed the art to protect it from the environment.
Drory-Lehrer says it was common to have residents come by and view their work during the painting phase.
He says when he told people he was “working on a project with my mother, they admired our connection.”
Drory-Lehrer, who is 30, says he got into art because of his mother who has been painting for decades. Soon Drory-Lehrer will be off to Mexico to pursue commercial mural commissions.
“But if Magenetawan has more mural projects I would come back to work with Mom,” he said. “It's cool to have a mom who is doing awesome projects”.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
