Paint for a Cause organizers launch new mural campaign

Aaron Horrell and Barb Bailey of Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau are back at it with another Paint for a Cause project. And this time they have teamed up with Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship (MVTH), a not-for-profit in Oak Ridge that offers therapeutic horseback riding.

For those not familiar with Paint for a Cause, the general idea is Horrell and Bailey sketch out a mural made up of geometric shapes, and individuals donate $1 to paint one. The current mural for MVTH includes 8,640 triangles on two panels, of which 500 have been painted thus far.

Southeast Missourian reporter Alyssa Lunsford wrote last week that the painting features 12 pictures of horses, and each image takes 160 painters to complete.

When finished, the painting will be displayed at the not-for-profit's facility and proceeds will benefit its efforts to provide riding therapy to people in this community.

Horrell and Bailey have done several of these projects for various causes, including the Glenn House, Missouri Veterans Home, and a statewide effort to celebrate Missouri's bicentennial.

If you'd like to participate, the mural is available to paint at various events or from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays at Painted Wren Art Gallery at 620 Whitelaw Ave. in Cape Girardeau. But you'll want to get there soon. The organizers say they hope to have it completed by summer.

We're big fans of the Paint for a Cause concept and the folks behind it. It's a way to get many people involved in a common cause that culminates with something beautiful. And the work at Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship is also something to celebrate in our community.