Behold, it’s Mr. Hose’s fantastic mural
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, November 17, 2009
MONROE — On Sunday afternoons, after the kids have left, David Hose brings his ladder and paintbrush into a playroom at the Monroe Family YMCA.
He’s slowly completing a mural there. The design shows cartoonlike kids playing soccer, kayaking and parachuting.
“Of course, little children are not going to be doing much parachuting,” said Hose, 65, “but that’s part of the fantasy.”
Hose’s YMCA mural is his latest contribution to the visual backdrop of the city. The Monroe resident has been painting murals in town for several years — at least sense he moved from Bellevue in 2004.
One of his murals decorates the side of NAPA Auto Parts on N. Lewis Street. Others cover the walls at the Hitching Post Cafe on W. Main Street. His biggest stretches about 80 feet long and 13 feet high.
By comparison, the YMCA piece is small — about 16 feet by 4 feet.
The YMCA hired Hose to paint the mural after it had been open for about two years. It was time to get art on the walls.
“We wanted to take our time and not completely decorate it in the first three months,” said Patsy Cudaback, executive director of the branch.
Other paintings may go up in the coming years. Some might be done by children — decorated tiles, perhaps — while professionals such as Hose could handle others.
The biggest challenge for the mural has been scheduling work time. During the week, the room fills with children, leaving Hose just a few hours to paint on Sundays.
He said he’s clocked about 10 work days on the mural, which may be done before Christmas. As he works, he said he thinks about the children who will grow up looking at it.
“The colors, as you can see, are bright and simple,” he said. “I’m trying to put shapes and swirls in it, to fascinate the kids.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com
