Hero of Art: Local rescues iconic downtown mural

More than a third of Dianna Schuppel and Eric Odin’s 1998 hand-painted mural had crumbled into bits and pieces of paint and cement by the time Douglas Jones was recruited.

Jones was tasked with restoring the 22-year-old wall mural located on 220 Cedar St. Building — also known as MickDuff’s Brewing Company. After 10 consecutive days of long work hours spent on a scaffold, Jones completed full restoration of the magical landscape scene including the enchanted maiden, who can be found collecting hops with a woven basket in the field.

“Some people used to say her eyes would follow them when they walked by her,” Jones said referring to the mysterious maiden in the mural. Although, Jones decided to give the maiden blue eyes in his latest restoration.

Commissioned by Ned Brandenburger at Sandpoint Property Management and Charlie Parrish of Evergreen Realty, Jones worked with Art Wimberly to repair the wall and restore its rich and colorful art display with as much accuracy as possible.

Unlike the first wall restoration in 2004, the 2020 restoration was much more extensive.

“Without this restoration there was a possibility that the wall would be obliterated,” Jones said.

Contractors were continually removing, patching and priming areas that were damaged or completely destroyed throughout the wall, which is made out of century-old cinder blocks.

“It kept changing,” he said. “It was harder and harder to follow.”

When the repairs were complete, Jones was shocked to find over one-third of the paint on the wall gone. Entire parts of faces, houses and trees in the mural were going to be painted from scratch, which signaled long days ahead.

Jones said he enjoyed the freedom that came with his larger-than-normal canvas. He would wake up in the early morning to begin painting the scene and work his way into tiny, microscopic details.

“The big brush strokes are freeing, to be able to paint on a bigger scale,” he said.

Midway through the project, however, Jones was forced to stop working because of the extreme heat.

“You know you need to stop when you can’t touch the wall because it’s too hot,” he said.

Jones said if he had continued, he could have messed up the brushes and the texture of the paint.

Layer after layer of latex enamel paint dried to form a revitalized historic image, one that tells the tale of manufacturing beer.

Schuppel and Odin’s mural was originally designed for previous brewery owners before MickDuff’s Brewing Company bought the property.

Jones does not have a formal background in painting murals, but he went to school for commercial art.

He said he has been drawn to art since he was 4 years old, when his dad would show him how to write and draw on the chalkboard in their home.

“I’m just crazy enough to take anything on,” Jones said. His projects range from painting to graphic design to drawing and more.

And when Jones finds himself restoring art, he has just one motto — never sign the work.

To him, the real credit is due to the original artists, Dianna Schuppel and Eric Odin.