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Norwich – Local artist David Bishop saw in the newspaper a photo of the town’s new fire boat during a test drive in Norwich Harbor, but it wasn’t the boat that caught his eye, it is the background.
In one photobehind the boat, the faded, peeling, rust-stained ‘welcome’ mural of Norwich Harbor stood out from Bishop. Weeds obscured part of the painting, which was created in the late 1990s.
“I saw the photo in the newspaper and I saw the mural on the back, and I said, ‘Dude, this thing needs some work,'” Bishop said Tuesday, as he was getting ready to finish repainting the last strip of wall and touching up. in a few places. “The marina is so beautiful, and the boats going up the river, and it looked, yuck.”
Bishop, 78, had repainted other historic panels in Norwich, including Norwichtown Green, Governor William A. Buckingham Memorial Building, Uncas Leap and Benedict Arnold’s birthplace. Several years ago he repainted the Whale Wall in New London, originally painted by artist Robert Wyland.
He applied to Norwich Public Works for permission to volunteer to restore the harbor mural to the retaining wall below the police station. Port Management Board Chairman H. Tucker Braddock praised the project and helped secure clearance from Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, whose freight rail tracks run past the strip of city-owned land at the basis of the mural.
Bishop initially estimated that the job would take around two months, with the help of his 31-year-old son, John Bishop. He used his 10% veteran’s discount at Lowes to buy paint, brushes, scrapers and rollers. The police department authorized the use of the rear parking lot and the 10- and 16-foot ladders required to reach the top portions of the 500-by-16-foot mural.
Bishop started in early June, working the afternoon after the sun set behind the police station, shading the area. Frequent rains and humidity occurred.
“We had such bad weather, and I’m older than before,” he explained, explaining why it took him over three months to complete.
While he was working, the boaters waved to him and shouted encouragement.
One evening, a group of boaters were sitting on a dock in American Wharf Marina, drinking beer and watching him paint.
“You are doing a great job! He remembered a scream. “We’re going to have a beer and come help you.”
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he replied. The boaters burst out laughing and resumed their party.
The work was sometimes tedious. Due to the heavy coat, Bishop had to scrape small sections at a time so as not to lose the design, redrawing the outline where it had been erased.
He only made slight changes, enhancing the bright red roses with shading to make them appear three-dimensional and “pop out,” he said, with a black background instead of blue. He also shaded two yellow stars that flank the words “Norwich Harbor” on the white banner roll.
Bishop estimated that he had purchased 17 gallons of paint, as well as rollers, buckets and brushes for the project.
While the mural is finished, he hopes to return to paint the metal railing above the wall to prevent future rust spots from dripping off. And he wants to add a plaque with the original date of the fresco, restoration and credit from original artist Nancy Bram Mereen and funder Ronald Aliano, then owner of the marina at American Wharf and chairman of the Harbor Management Commission. . Both are deceased.
Bishop plans to have the city paint a clear coat of waterproofing to preserve the work and cut more brush at the water’s edge for better views from the harbor, marina and Howard T. Brown Memorial Park. the other side of the water. He also hopes the city will repair long-dead railings or install new lights from above.
Braddock likes the idea of the clear coat and the lights. He is soon planning a re-dedication ceremony at Brown Park to thank Bishop and to show off the restored mural.
The original mural from the late 1990s transformed a 5,300 square foot green retaining wall. Aliano, an enthusiast from Norwich, paid for the paint and all the supplies.
Bram Mereen was a local artist and a technician in the town planning department. Her husband, John Paul Mereen, recalled that Nancy introduced the design to Aliano as a raw concept, and Aliano loved it and wanted it to remain unchanged. She pointed out that the flags at the top appeared to be flying in different directions.
“It’s Norwich,” Aliano told him, Mereen recalls.
Mereen said he was happy his wife’s artwork survived and can still be enjoyed in the city.
“I think it’s great,” he said of the catering. “I know she liked to do this when Ron asked her to.”
Braddock praised Bishop’s work and dedication to the city. Bishop, originally from Norwich, moved to Mystic in 1979 and returned to Norwich in 2015.
“David has really stepped up to the plate,” Braddock said. “It wasn’t an easy thing to do. David is truly an artistic person and is very conscientious of what he does. He did a great job bringing out the feeling of the original design, he really brought it back to life. Just the energy he put into it. He wanted to do it himself, because he wanted those colors to stand out from the wall. And they do.
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