FLOODWALL MURAL SHOWS BEST OF HISTORY, SAYS ARTIST

Artist Fred Lincoln hopes his floodwall mural combines the best of Cape Girardeau's history with the city's hope for the future.

Lincoln visited Cape Girardeau Sunday with his artist's rendering of the mural, which, if approved, will be painted on the Mississippi River side of the downtown floodwall.

Tonight the River Heritage Mural Association will ask the Cape Girardeau City Council to approve the mural.

The 320-foot-long mural will begin just north of the Themis Street floodgate and will end just south of the Broadway floodgate.

Lincoln said, "When we were first discussing the project, I felt as though it should have an overall look to reflect the historical feeling in the downtown area."

The images are done in a dark brown on a light beige background, giving the mural a historical sepia-drawing look, Lincoln said.

"The river, of course, was a natural to look to for inspiration. I considered a flowing design, which would run the full length of the mural. This idea then lent itself to an unfolding, flowing scroll.

"To get a symbolic water relationship introduced into the design, I decided to use a blue background behind the scrollwork. This also helped the design by creating a flowing border the length of the mural."

The design begins with a panel that reads, "Welcome to Cape Girardeau, Missouri." It is very much like welcome signs located throughout the city, including a painting of a rose.

Along the beige scroll are drawings starting with an Indian and a riverboat and continuing to feature prominent buildings in the city.

Lincoln said, "The images selected to depict the theme were images which seemed important, or notable to the city. I hoped that the images selected would generally be prominent enough to give a broader representation of that particular time, place or event."

An area map near the end of the mural locates Cape Girardeau on the river.

He said, "If someone from the Delta Queen lands at Cape Girardeau, at a glance they will see the city's history leading up to today.

"The area map shows exactly where we are, but I think the end segment is most important. It's about what is most important to this community, it's people.

At the end of the mural is a young family looking at the river.

"The climax of the mural, I feel, is the most important part. This is the portrayal of the future," he said.

Tim Blattner of the mural association said: "Part of the reason we went with Fred is because he is from Cape Girardeau and is a professional designer. We felt there were some benefits with that combination."

Lincoln works in Memphis, Tenn., as a staff artist at a large tire and automotive-parts firm.

He is originally from Cape Girardeau. He graduated from Central High School in 1961, and attended Southeast Missouri State University for a time. Jake Wells, who painted a mural in Kent Library on the university campus, was one of Lincoln's teachers.

Lincoln worked for General Sign Co., here and later worked for another sign company in Memphis.

He has designed one other mural, for LaBonner Children's Hospital in Memphis. But he said an addition to the hospital covered over his mural.

"A lot of thought and a lot of time went into this," said Lincoln. He said well over 200 hours was spent on the project, which he began a year ago.

If approved tonight, work could begin on the mural Tuesday. Blattner said he hopes the mural will be finished before Riverfest June 7-8. Professional sign painters will use an opaque projector to paint the design on the wall.

Blattner said the mural would be visible from Riverfront Park.

"It's not necessary to see the whole mural at once," he said. "You can amble along and enjoy each part.

"We're hoping it will also encourage people to walk through the floodgates and enjoy the river."