This was a competitive mural, awarded to the winner after a rigorous selection process including public voting. Located on the side of Central Drug in downtown Charlevoix, Michigan, the mural had to fit into brick recesses in the historic building. The mural was painted in sections in a small rented studio over three months. The walls of the studio were not tall enough to paint the mural in one piece, so I had to do quite a bit of engineering to get everything to match up. The 4 minute film at the bottom shows the whole process.
The mural itself is a visual progressive time piece, with the first panel set in 1901, the second panel circa 1925 and the bridge is as it was built in 1949. The panel with the children shows Round Lake as it would have looked in 1950 and the last panel is a tribute to Earl Young’s mushroom houses, circa 1970. The door on the mushroom house is the actual back door into Central Drug.
I worked with the historical society to get reference photos to assure the accuracy of the mural. The unusual stone walls in the mural appear throughout Charlevoix and are based on Young’s unique style. The day the mural was installed, it was the first time I had ever seen all the sections of the mural together. Click on the first image to see a slideshow.

The soundtrack on the film is from one of my concerts with the Ann Arbor Symphony with me as the soloist.