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Date: 6/23/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — “When I set out, I jokingly said my plan was to paint the town,” said John Matlock, posing in front of what is now his eighth public mural in West Springfield.
He does not add “red.”
He wears a navy shirt, and a shark tooth on a string around his neck he calls his lucky charm. The mural behind him is awash in deep blues. Two humpback whales and a school of tropical fish dominate a scene painted on the rear façade of the Alice Corson Park Pool bathhouse, an otherwise unassuming concrete structure about the same length as a school bus — or a real humpback whale.
Doors for the men’s and the women’s, a pair of water fountains, and a list of pool rules break up a scene from somewhere in the southeast Pacific, if a triad of submerged moai stone heads are to be believed.
“I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t like marine life,” said Matlock.
“You know, I like bright colors. There’s not really anything political or a statement to be made, I just wanted to bring some kind of a bright color, and make people feel good with what they’re looking at,” he added.
If not for the roar of motor vehicles from Route 5 directly behind the park, one might hear the Connecticut River push its water around the bend, just about the length of a football field from the new mural. Matlock stands, scissors in hand, alongside the members of the West Springfield Arts Council who hold a ceremonial purple ribbon for him to cut, which he does while town workers are busy polishing and erecting a splash pad sprinkler elsewhere in the park.
“I’d like to thank the West Springfield Arts Council, and especially Tony Di Giore,” says Matlock. Di Giore, who died last March, had previously been involved with the West Springfield Arts Council for 50 years, according to its members.
The Arts Council, which receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, awarded Matlock a grant of $4,728 to complete this project, according to council member Janet Eckert.
The funding was part of a $21,000 grant budget. Members of the public may apply for grants that benefit the artistic and cultural well-being of the town.
“We’re really hoping that more people from the community, individuals, nonprofits, schools and senior centers apply for the funding, which is competitive,” said Eckert.
The pool at the Alice Corson Park Playground, at 373 Main St., West Springfield, opens to the public June 27. The park also includes a splash pad and playground.