New mural on downtown Ocala water tank finished
A nearly 300-foot mural featuring native plants and animals of the Ocala National Forest has just been painted on a structure in downtown Ocala.
The artist behind Ocala’s newest piece of artwork, Stanley Creative, LLC (d/b/a C. Stanley Creative), shared photos of “Marion Flow” on Thursday.
“It was a pleasure working in Ocala and getting to be near our families that live there during the holiday season,” reads a statement from the company. Stanley Creative, LLC, is owned and operated by husband and wife Christian and Jessica Stanley, who are based in Orlando.
Marion Flow, a new mural on a water tank in downtown Ocala, features a variety of wildlife present in the Ocala National Forest. Credit: C. Stanley Creative
The newest mural in downtown Ocala features multiple animals that frequent the Ocala National Forest and Marion County, including manatees, otters, alligators, deer, and multiple species of birds.
Located on the water tank at SE 3rd Avenue and SE 5th Street in downtown Ocala, the new mural has been several months in the making.
The completion of the mural came around 38 days after a $60,000 contract for the project was approved by the Ocala City Council on November 19.
The contract term specified the work had to be delivered within 56 days and included a provision for a five-year “artist warranty.”
According to the city, the removal of the previous mural and addition of the new mural were estimated to cost $80,000. Approximately $50,000 of the cost was funded through the city’s general fund, while the other $30,000 was funded equally by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation and Fine Arts for Ocala.
The previous mural, Natural Flow, was removed from the structure in the days leading up to the Ocala Arts Festival. That mural was painted in 2016 by Eduardo Mendieta.
It was deaccessioned in August by the Ocala Municipal Arts Commission after the group determined it would be too costly to repair or repaint the artwork.
Shortly after Natural Flow was deaccessioned, Ocala Cultural Arts issued an open call for artists to create a new “flora and fauna” themed mural to cover the entire tank, which holds a million gallons of the city of Ocala’s drinking water.
Out of 65 qualifying applications, Stanley Creative, LLC, was selected for the artist’s overall score, theme of native Marion County wildlife, and experience working on large mural projects.
Do you plan to visit the mural? Share your photos and opinions about the new art work in a comment or a letter to the editor.