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Janet Pontious article from Odessa American"
Working nearly every morning, Janet Pontious is steaming along in her
efforts to make an Odessa underpass a little more attractive.
The Midland artist is making tracks on a mural commemorating the 125th
anniversary of settlers coming by train to what would later become the
Permian Basin.
“The railroads came through and brought the settlers here,” Nancy
Wells, executive director of Main Street Odessa, said. “All of the
sudden, settlement occurred afterward, and we’re celebrating the 125th
anniversary of the railroads coming through Odessa.”
Pontious is painting the mural where West County Road passes under
Second Street.
“I wanted to be the person who did this mural,” Pontious said. “It
just seemed so fascinating.”
Pontious, who was on the short list of artists according to Wells, said
she was so excited that she started right away on the sketch.
“I just got at it and finished it in about 25 hours,” she said. “I
just knocked it out pretty fast.”
The full mural should be finished by mid-June.
Wells also brought in Roy Platner, a train enthusiast, Wells to make
sure the painting was authentic. Platner said Pontious almost had it
historically accurate on the first drawing.
“It was pretty good when I first saw the design,” Platner said.
“There were some minor changes she needed to make to make it a little
bit more authentic. Besides those small changes, she did a good job.”
The painting on one side of the underpass shows a train from 1881 and a
Union Pacific train from today. The other side shows a train from the
early 1900s with a wooden train station and black Model-T’s in the
background.
Pontious said the train that Odessa settlers may have came on was one of
the hardest parts of the mural.
“I just love the old train, but it’s the hardest thing to draw
because of all the unique shapes and angles,” she said. “The train
of today is a lot easier since it’s more boxy.”
Brushes in hand, the sounds of real trains passing overhead echo as
Pontious works on the underpass most morning. But, the train sounds and
vibrations aren’t really a problem, she said.
“The trains don’t bother me as much as the pigeons,” she said.
“The trains are powerful, but I don’t trust the pigeons.” |
