I’m not an artist, even though I spent most of my high school years scribbling ​“Led Zeppelin” onto blue canvas three-ring binders.
Shakespeare confuses me. David Lynch movies are weird. Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers and a single Lucio Fulci horror movie poster in the Valley Indy office are the extent of my forays into fine culture.
When I got married, my wife banished my wall art — zombie heads, a framed illustration of Gene Simmons from Fangoria — to a spare room in my house and a basement prone to flooding.
But even I can appreciate the funky portraits from the Valley Arts Council on display at the Sterling Opera House on Elizabeth Street in Derby.
Eleven artists created 12 portraits that were unveiled at the opera house on Derby Day (June 16). The portraits depict people who performed at Sterling back when it was a performing arts mecca.
The paintings were hung in the windows and, as of Thursday morning, could still be seen by folks walking on the sidewalk along Elizabeth Street. When I was photographing the paintings Thursday, a police officer from Orange on his way to Superior Court next door stopped to check them out.
He thought it was a great way to show off the beautiful building and its history — as do I.
The paintings — hold on a moment while I grow a soul patch and put on my art critic beret — are just plain cool. Each one is an iconic little treasure.
It’s hard to pick a favorite, but mine is probably Lon Chaney, Sr. Here’s a photo of it. The photo proves I’m also not a photographer.
I’m a movie buff — or at least I was before my toddler’s obsession with Elmo started — so artist Heather Dailey-Messacappa’s depiction of Cheney from ​“Phantom of the Opera” spoke to me.
The top attention-getter, I’d imagine, is Jerry Mulcahy’s depiction of Bob Hope, re-imagined as the famous Obama ​“Hope” painting. Very cool.
This photo gallery contains the items that were still at Sterling as of Thursday (June 21):
The items are ​“The Sterling Opera House Portrait Project,” according to the Valley Art Council’s website. It took six months to put together and was the brainchild of Derby’s Rich DiCarlo. The project was made possible thanks to a grant from the Valley Community Foundation, according to one of the signs hanging at the opera house.
The following artists participated.
I strongly urge you to visit the VAC website, where the artists are also listed — and be sure to click on the artists’ names on the VAC website to download more information about each artist, including contact information.
- Enrico Caruso by Richard DiCarlo
- Gracie Allen by Karen Loprete
- George Burns by Len Grayeck
- John L. Sullivan by Richard DiCarlo
- Amelia Earhart by Susan Carden-Flicker
- Lon Chaney Sr. by Heather Daily-Mezzacappa
- John Philip Sousa by Stephen DiRienzo
- Bob Hope by Jerry Mulcahy
- Harry Houdini by Gregory Karas
- Milton Berle by Deneen Datcher
- Bing Crosby by Elizabeth De Lucia
- Red Skelton by Beverly Borucki-Becker
Job well done.