Fresh Paint

Virginia designated the Northern Cardinal as the state bird in 1950, and the Dogwood as the state flower in 1918, and state tree in 1956. This image was painted during the Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s BrewHaHa Virginia Craft Beer Festival as a kick-off for Fresh Paint. 

“As soon as I saw Charles Hoffbauer’s Confederate Memorial Military Murals, I decided to highlight the role of the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War. These black Union soldiers not only fought against Confederate soldiers—from whom they expected no quarter—but suffered distrust, discrimination, and even death, from their white allies. Although some blacks, both North and South, were classified as “free,” my work suggests that African Americans were engaged in a war where, even in victory, freedom would not be completely theirs.” - Hamilton Glass 

“I became aware of the Readjuster Party during a visit to the museum and realized this nineteenth-century political movement was not included anywhere in my earlier education. I decided to replace the well-known Confederate officers in Charles Hoffbauer’s Confederate Memorial Military Murals with figures that I think we should focus more attention on. This piece contrasts the black struggle to achieve the rights of full citizenship with efforts by white Southerners to shape the narrative of Confederate defeat and regain political and social dominance after the Civil War.” - Noah Scalin

“Even the smallest objects can have great meaning. I was drawn to a 1.75-inch diameter brass disk on which are the words “Roanoke Navigation Company” and an image of two men guiding a boat filled with goods destined for points along the Roanoke, Dan, and Staunton rivers. I bring to this subject a perspective from my home in Roanoke, Virginia, and like the boatmen, am navigating a visual landscape to bring this interesting element of our history to today’s audiences.” - Toobz Muir 

"Home is inspired by the work of John White, who joined a 1585 expedition to North Carolina—then called Virginia—to “drawe to life” the area’s natural bounty and inhabitants. His watercolors of the fish, birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals in the region encouraged English settlement of the New World. Virginia has always been my homestead and ecological treasure. Through black and white design, I’ve chosen to explore the history of Virginia's agriculture and ecosystems and how they intertwine within our coexisting daytime and nocturnal landscape.” - Amelia Blair Langford 

“Higgle Milk Hulburt came to Virginia, it is thought, from somewhere cold and beautiful, probably Norway. He imagined farming the land and raising, like, thirteen children. Then he found pottery, or rather, he learned how to make beautiful, blue-glazed stoneware. He became an artist, and made a modest living selling his wares by the side of the road, from his converted Conestoga wagon. It is said he was rarely seen without his faithful friend, “Happily,” a bright red Cardinal. He found true happiness in his beloved wife, Hennie, and in their thirteen daughters, all named Hennie.” - Chris Milk Hulburt 

“As an avid fan of World War I history, I was thrilled to explore the museum’s exhibitions focusing on the war and its effect on the world. Though the Great War is not regularly a topic of discussion in popular culture, its lasting impact can be seen every day. My piece focuses on the repercussions of the decision to join the war effort; a decision that weighed heavily on the mind of Woodrow Wilson, the last American president born in Virginia.” - Mickael Broth 

“My design is inspired by two American women of African descent, Mary Smith Peake and Barbra Rose Johns. In 1861, when the Union army occupied Hampton, Peake began teaching former slaves seeking freedom on what are now the grounds of Hampton University. Nearly a century later, Johns led a student walkout to protest unequal conditions in Farmville’s segregated public schools. This mural focuses on how black women used and pursued education as a tool to emancipate themselves and others from physical and mental enslavement.” - Austin Miles 

“Geologists can only hypothesize as to how Natural Bridge was created, but they estimate the rocks to be 470 million years old. By comparison, Homo sapiens have only existed for about 200,000 years, and the average human does not even live to see 100. Beyond the history of Virginia, the bridge alludes to the history of the planet itself, and to the questions we cannot answer. I paint the bridge as a portal into another realm—a symbolic representation of how mere rock can cause a shift in consciousness.” - Wing Chow 

“George Washington (profile at right) produced a quality rye whiskey that is being made today, and when a tax was levied on distilled liquors in 1791, a rebellion threatened our new nation. Well into the 20th century, government revenuers (at right) tried to stop the moonshining. Souped-up cars driven by bootleggers like Willie Carter Sharpe (profile at left) gave rise to NASCAR. Remarkably, today the mention of “moonshine” elicits images of both barefoot, toothless individuals and hip boutique distillers.” - Ed Trask 

“I chose to work around a central theme of women as agents of social change. From left to right are suffragist Adele Clark; former slave Elizabeth Keckley; and women’s rights activist Casey Dokoupil. I render them in black and white to convey the timelessness of a woman's strength. The juxtaposition of these women against the full-color flowers presents these characters as women who are no longer to be seen as decoration, or as objects, but as elements of change in Virginia and beyond.” - Nico Cathcart