Clinton was already a quaint town with the Cariboo Highway snaking through its main street and its long history.
Now its story gets told in big bold expressions that draw the eye even sharper into its gold rushing and cowboying past. A new mural stretches along 320 feet of downtown Clinton, all of it depicting that colourful Cariboo character.
That mural might essentialize Clinton but it was splashed on that long wall by three Prince George artists led by high-profile painter Greg Gislason, the man behind the Spirit Of The Games mural on display at the Prince George Airport, the new images on the back of the Seniors Activity Centre on Brunswick Street and some of the work done on the Black Donkey Café's outdoor gathering space.
Gislason was aided by frequent collaborator Andrew Mooney, a spray can specialist, and Carsten Peterson who joined in for the learning opportunity on such a unique project.
Gislason's business partner Rebecca Sinclair was there when the opportunity was first born.
"A couple of us were down there a couple of years ago and showed the owner of the campground, Mike (Dier of the Gold Trail RV Park), the pictures of the mural Greg painted in Prince George at the airport. Mike thought it would be such a cool idea to paint his fence along the highway. It happened this year because it is Canada's 150th birthday and it is also the 150th anniversary of the May Ball which is this huge social event in Clinton, one of the most important social events in Cariboo history that has survived to today."
Once the financing was in place to hire Gislason and his team, they set to work as soon as the weather would allow, working at breakneck speed to be done in time for the Clinton May Ball. But the weather didn't roll out any red carpets.
"We got going on May 1, but we had to take a lot of unwelcome breaks," said Gislason. "Wind, rain, hail... We had ice on the projector glass at three in the morning. We were battling freezing temperatures a few times."
The artists were burning a gallon of kerosene a night, when the mercury dipped below zero. They had to work at night so the images they projected on the wall could be seen well enough to sketch, then from those rough outlines they could paint the detail in.
It was also the time when traffic was lightest.
"Sometimes we had to set the projector up across the highway, so we had to run an extension cord across the road," said Gislason. "Every time a car drove by, we imagined the cord getting caught and yanking the projector down the highway. It never happened, but we always had that thought in our mind. And sometimes when those trucks would roar by, it would be pretty unnerving being that close. But we also got a lot of toot-toots, too - people showing us some support as we worked."
It took 15 painting days to get the paintings finished to Dier's satisfaction, then a few additional sessions to touch up the details and apply a coating. Gislason figures more protective coating will be needed.
He estimated at the outset that it would take each artist 333 hours of work but he said it actually turned into about 450 hours for him.
All the artists are back in Prince George or off on their own individual projects now. Gislason said he can still taste "those famous steaks at the Gold Trail" and he has hopes that Dier might be interested in adding new images to the remaining blank walls. The feedback from the public has been enormously positive.
Gislason is in talks to do more prominent murals in Prince George and he is always busy with the other airbrush and paintbrush commissions he gets. Sculpting has also become a recent addition to his activities and he has an inventory of posters and other commercial items for sale that carry his artwork.
"I'll paint anything," he said with a laugh. "I've even painted a toilet reservoir for someone's bathroom. I had to sandblast it to give the porcelain enough tooth, but it worked."
For more information or to make contact, look him up on Facebook at Gregory Michael Gislason, or slow down for a long look as you pass through the southern gateway to the Cariboo.
