Paint for a Cause project aims to help Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship

Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau has teamed up with Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship in Oak Ridge to create a new Paint for a Cause project.

MVTH is a not-for-profit offering therapeutic horseback riding to adults and children. Local artists Aaron Horrell and Barb Bailey have created a painting that will raise money and be given to the organization once it is completed.

Started in September with 8,640 blank triangles on two panels, the mural — measuring 6 feet by 10 feet — now has more than 500 of the triangles painted by participants, who each donated $1 to contribute.

The painting consists of 12 pictures of horses from MVTH. Individual photos of the horses were turned to grayscale to help the painters see what triangles have been painted. Separately, each photo takes 160 painters to complete.

Once finished, the painting will be hung at the facility. After expenses for the project, the money collected will go to MVTH to provide horse riding therapy for folks in the community.

Horses Ranger and Barney are nearly done on the Paint for a Cause 12-horse painting created for Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship. The mural will hang in MVTH's lobby once completed by donors.Alyssa Lunsford ~ alunsford@semissouian.com

Horses Ranger and Barney are nearly done on the Paint for a Cause 12-horse painting created for Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship. The mural will hang in MVTH's lobby once completed by donors.Alyssa Lunsford ~ alunsford@semissouian.com

Bailey said she sees Paint for a Cause as a way to bring the community together for something larger than themselves.

“Paint for a Cause is a way we can invite the community to come to the gallery or events. They can donate a dollar,” Bailey said. “They may not have $100 to give to any particular event, but they can give the dollar and that goes to a project bigger than they are.”

Painters do not have to be the next Picasso as they will be given the paint color and shown where to paint by the artists. There is still creative freedom such as giving a horse an eyebrow or painting the border a certain color.

“Each individual can paint a 2-inch triangle and their brushstrokes will be incorporated with other people’s brushstrokes, creating a painting or mural that will be given to the charity,” Horrell said.

Along with being able to paint with others for the mural, there is also a journal that is filled out with all those who collaborate, which will be sent along with the painting. Those who look through it will be able to see everyone who participated in the project.

The Painted Wren Art Gallery has done more than 10 Paint for a Cause projects since 2015, which have raised thousands of dollars for local organizations, including Safehouse for Women and a painting for the Missouri bicentennial.

Horrell and Bailey said they hope to have the Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship painting done by the summer.

The mural is available to paint from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays at Painted Wren Art Gallery at 620 Whitelaw Ave., or at events around the area. For more information on Paint for a Cause, visit facebook.com/PaintedWrenArtGallery.