West Pelzer gets pop up mural from visiting artist

West Pelzer has a new “Pop Up” mural painted on the back wall of Westy’s Antiques. Visiting artist Merritt Cates donated his talents for the pop-up project as a part of West Pelzer’s GRAND Gallery.  The mural features Abraham Lincoln and his dog Fido.

West Pelzer recently got a surprise “Pop Up” mural when artist Merritt Cates was in town visiting local artist Andy Gambrell.  While he was in West Pelzer, Cates did a pop-up project for West Pelzer’s Grand Gallery, painting a mural on the back wall of Westy’s Antiques and Vintage Heirlooms.  The mural features Abraham Lincoln and his dog Fido.  “Our community is grateful for his generosity in volunteering his design work and labor to execute the mural,” Gambrell said. “I worked to assist him, and Grace Poulton, an artist from Anderson University who will be featured in the next exhibition at the Grand Gallery on June 4th, dropped by to assist as well.”
Gambrell said the mural is fitting for West Pelzer because the town is dog friendly and Mayor Blake Sanders is a fan of President Lincoln.
Merritt is an award winning, internationally recognized emerging artist.  He earned his BFA in printmaking from SCAD-Atlanta and his MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Merritt has exhibited internationally and has been a resident of the AGA experimental printmaking lab in the Netherlands.  He has worked in printshops in Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Colorado.
Mayor Sanders and the Town of West Pelzer express their gratitude for Merritt’s time and talent in painting the mural and helping beautify the town.

(Photo courtesy Andy Gambrell)