You may not know Murray Gibbs’ face, but you will almost certainly have seen his fingerprints all over Steveston.
To be more precise, it’s Gibbs’ talented brushstrokes that are conspicuously crafted all over the village, on restaurants and stores.
In fact, if you’ve paused to admire a particular hand-painted business sign in Steveston, there’s a good chance it came courtesy of Murray’s Signs.
But it’s his latest creation, which was hung on Tuesday afternoon, that’s giving him a lot of pleasure, not least because he designed and painted it over the six weeks it took to complete.
“It’s been a labour of love for sure,” Gibbs told the Richmond News of his new, 12 feet by 32 feet mural on the side of Canfisco’s net shed in Steveston.
“I am very proud of it as I kind of got a free rein from Canfisco; although they obviously had to approve the design. But yes, I’m very happy with it; I think I’m getting better with age.”
The hand-painted mural — which was commissioned by fish processor Canfisco for Canada’s 150th birthday and is made of 12 crezon plywood panels — depicts three very specific, Steveston fishing vessels plying their trade.
The artwork replaced the old mural, which was also created by Gibbs and was commissioned by Canfisco, in 2002, for the Tall Ships Festival.
“I remember (the old mural) went up that very day of the festival, with the hordes arriving,” recalled Gibbs, who moved his business from Bridgeport and No. 3 roads in 1994 to Langley.
“(The mural) was of a cruising tug boat and a huge can of salmon. That one didn’t take as long as this one, maybe only two to three weeks; there was less detail.
“This one is more elaborate; I had to really concentrate on the vessels.”
The boats in the painting — a gillnetter and two seiners — were selected by Canfisco, said Gibbs, who actually went down to Steveston to take a photo of the gillnetter.
“I hand-painted the sky, the sea, the whole background,” he said of the process.
“I then projected images of the boats on top, which I then drew on. Then there are snap lines and vanishing points; it has incredible detail.
“(Canfisco) wanted something unique and I think they got it. I could have just done a digital print.”
Gibbs used Nova paint to complete the job, which is a “special outdoor mural paint that’s very tough.”
With a little help, it took Gibbs five to six hours to mount.
And as he met the News to show off his work, several passers-by stopped in their tracks, realizing it was new, and complimented it.
“That’s the kind of reaction I hope for. Thank you,” he said to the couple.
