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Local artists selected for outdoor art campaign

Photo

Larry Schultz

Photo

Jim Richter

JANESVILLE — Artists Larry Schultz of Milton and Jim Richter of Janesville have been selected to complete artwork for murals for the downtown Janesville "Heart of the City" outdoor art campaign.

Schultz and Richter will provide finished art for two murals celebrating the social and economic history of the community.

One mural features the Rock River and the erection of the dams in the 1840s. The other features the railroad and its significance in the 1850s.

The artists' finished paintings will be digitally transferred onto canvasses measuring 25 feet by 30 feet. The canvasses will be hung outdoors downtown. Locations for the two murals are yet to be determined.

Schultz is the owner of Sunny Beach Farm Studio in Milton and has worked as a professional artist for 30 years. In 2006, he painted three fiberglass cows for CowParade Wisconsin in Madison.

Schultz has done commemorative paintings for several dairy organizations. One of his works now hangs in the Hoard Historical Museum in Fort Atkinson. He completed the mural of Storrs Lake in The Gathering Place senior center in Milton. Schultz is now designing and painting sets for the Armory dinner theater in Janesville.

Richter also has worked as a professional artist for more than 30 years. He completed three fiberglass '57 Chevy statues for Chevys on the Circuit public art event in Janesville in 2006. In 2007 he painted a fiberglass lighthouse for downtown Racine's public art event. Richter designed the Town Square murals for Riverfront, Inc., in Janesville in 2008. Recent work includes paintings of vintage signage including the Cozy Inn, Rivers Edge Bowl and the YMCA.

The Heart of the City outdoor art campaign is sponsored by the Janesville Design & Development Center, a project of Forward Janesville.

The campaign also includes a third mural celebrating the land and the settlers of the 1830s completed by Ron Wick of Rockford, Ill. The 1830s mural will be located on the northwest side of the building located at 101 E. Milwaukee St. facing into the Janesville Farmers Market neighborhood.

Erection of all three murals is tentatively planned for fall 2009.