Geneva Chamber hosts paint-by-number mural

The Geneva Chamber of Commerce is hosting a paint-by-number session this month to create a mural which will be displayed at this year’s Festival of the Vine.

The painting will go from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 25 and July 26 next to Anastazia, 500 S. Third St., at Dodson Place.

Chamber President Paula Schmidt said the finished mural will feature all of the city’s landmarks.

“We have a very different and special project that we’re doing this year,” Schmidt said at a recent City Council meeting, explaining the paint-by-number idea. “It will stay up through the months after Festival of the Vine, so people can keep enjoying that.”

Festival of the Vine is from Sept. 5-7.

Hogan Design and Construction also paid for all the supplies, Schmidt said.

Hogan Design also created the temporary frame for the four-by-eight-foot canvas for Aurora artist Laura Lynne’s paint-by-number outline.

The canvas will be made of aluminum panels that Lynne washed first, then sanded to give them some grit, followed by a couple of coats of white metal primer.

“I am now copying the design I had given them – I gave them a mocked-up design – and I’m outlining it in black,” Lynne said. “Then I’m going to assign a number to all the colors and draw in the numbers in each little section. And all the paint will be numbered. People will be able to figure out what to paint.”

About 22 colors will be involved in acrylic and latex paints.

This is not the first public paint-by-number project that Lynne has created.

“I actually did a paint-by-number mural in Aurora in 2022,” Lynne said.

That one was much bigger, 15-by-30 feet, located on the side of Mang-Kuk, 10 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora.

When doing a project like this, Lynne said she does a lot of research first.

“I look at multiple photos of different angles of buildings, where everything is located and Swedish folk art,” Lynne said.

Chamber spokesperson Johanna Patterson said the finished project will find a permanent home either inside the Chamber office or at the Geneva History Museum.

People have already signed up for the 90-minute painting time slots on the Chamber website.

The second day of the paint-by-number project is the first day of the Geneva Arts Fair, July 26 and 27.

With their support, Geneva’s first-ever community mural is not only a work of art – but a symbol of what makes this town so special: neighbors, businesses, and friends coming together, according to a news release.

The paint-by-number format offers a hands-on way for adults of all skill levels to take part in a shared creative experience. As each person fills in their piece, the mural will slowly come together, brushstroke by brushstroke – resulting in a finished work that truly belongs to the entire community, according to the release.