‘Paintings in Paintsville’ project begins with Sipp mural

Muralist Leslie Heinze and assistant Becky Clay painted a mural on the back of the Sipp Theater in downtown Paintsville last Wednesday, Oct. 14, as part of the new “Paintings in Paintsville” project. BSN photo/Tony Fyffe

PAINTSVILLE — The backs of historic buildings in downtown Paintsville are starting to come alive with the sights of yesteryear. The second phase of the new “Paintings in Paintsville” project spearheaded by the Johnson County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program began last week with the painting of a mural on the back of the Sipp Theater. The project’s first phase was an art competition on Facebook that reached 19,961 people, with 56 entering into the conversation on one post and one site alone, according to Johnson County FCS Agent Brenda Cockerham. History and the arts surfaced as two predominate themes. Historic sites, significant people and places were sited most frequently. Others submitted ideas of nature-flowers, apples, dancers and musicians. All in all, there were 33 entrees submitted by 23 artisans, with a wide variety of age ranges throughout the county. “We were thrilled with the entrees and interest, Cockerham said. “This has certainly been a daunting task but one that we feel is very worthy of our commitment”. The purpose of the competition was to select art for the “Paintings in Paintsville” project. It is the hope that it will be the first mural of many in the years to come. The first building selected was the back of the Sipp Theater in Paint Creek Park. This quest sparked the imagination of two talented individuals who entered the competition, Cadence Whittaker and Sarah Zometa. Whittaker, a 14-year-old from Johnson Central, researched the project and created a handpainted black-and-white painting featuring the Sipp not long after it was built in 1931. It was Paintsville’s first “talkie” movie and concert theater, where vaudeville acts were performed live before and after movie screenings. It remains one of the area’s oldest theaters still in operation as an entertainment venue. The next artist was Sarah Zometa, an artist originally from Paintsville but who now lives in Lexington and works as a teacher. Zometa’s art featured highlights of the history of Johnson County as if they were movies you could see at the Sipp. She submitted several “movie posters” that showcased each historic site or person in a movie-style format. Both ideas were “very clever” and valued by the steering committee, Cockerham said. Zometa, who creates her designs with a digital format, said that it took her around 30 hours to complete her work on the project, and probably couldn’t have done it if she hadn’t been off due to the pandemic. Whittaker, on the other hand, has had a passion for the arts that was inspired by her father. One of the most exquisite entrees was submitted by Regina Daniels, featuring florals around the Mayo Mansion and Church, Cockerham said. It was decided that the quality of workmanship ranked first place, but the theme would be best featured on another building within the overall project. This meant that the two featuring the Sipp and “movies” would both tie for second place and would win the right to be featured in the first mural on the Sipp. Creating a painting by hand or digitally is one thing, but applying it to the wall is a job for a muralist, one who is skilled at transferring a design scale that shifts from inches to feet in size, Cockerham said. Composing a number of possibilities for layout on the computer, adjusting for sizes and details are all done on the computer before creating the layout for the building. Special equipment, climbing, mixing paints and transferring the art to differing surfaces that is usually on tall, sometimes complicated buildings with many humps and bumps have to be factored into the design. Enter muralist Leslie Heinze, who came to the project with years of experience of working on murals on buildings from over six states. With the support of many volunteers, Heinze was able to transfer the winning designs to the Sipp. She, with the support of Becky Clay, applied the art to the highest parts of the building and later created an outline that the community could help with on the lower part of the building. Mural painting will continue throughout October or until it is completed. “We invite the public and those who would enjoy taking part in painting to feel free to call the Johnson County Extension Office and register to work one of three shifts available,” Cockerham said. “Gloves, masks and hand sanitizer are available, and social distancing required but you must register first at 606-789-8108.”