New Haven painter brings big-scale art to walls across Missouri
When artist Ray Harvey sees a blank wall in a small town, he has a big goal. He wants to paint a mural so memorable it becomes as iconic as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. “Every small town needs an Arch,” Ray says. “You want something that makes people proud of their town.”
For three decades, Ray has been transforming blank walls into tourist destinations. His murals capture historical moments, noteworthy people, beautiful scenery and more — the one common dominator is the size. “I do big, bold stuff,” he says. “If I’m going to paint an apple, it’s going to be 14 feet tall. ‘Big’ is my trademark.”
Ray has painted big murals in many small towns across Missouri. “One of the main beauties of public art is it goes to the public; you don’t have to go to it,” he says. “People see it every day and it kind of becomes almost like a friend to them. Big paintings are my wheelhouse. To me, murals are highway paintings, so they have to look good from the road.” Most of the murals Ray has painted have been funded by private donations or groups. Of course, the cost of a mural depends on the size and complexity. Ray says the average cost is $15,000, but smaller ones can be $5,000.
Ray, who lives with his wife, Paula, in New Haven, is a self-taught painter. His professional career centered on illustrations for the advertising industry. As that industry became technology-focused, he knew he could put his creative talents to work in a different way.
“I found myself working with interior decorators,” Ray recalls. “I saw some of the murals they were paying for, and I thought they were awful. The reason was they were done by house painters who were trying to be artists. I was an artist, so I just needed to learn how to paint large-scale murals on walls.”
That’s just what he did. Since 1990, Ray has painted more than 600 indoor and outdoor murals mostly in Missouri. His paintings are found in public spaces, restaurants, homes and commercial buildings — he says he has painted more public murals than any artist in the state.
The flag mural in Concordia is 100 feet long, which Ray says makes it the biggest painted flag in Missouri.
If it’s a sunny day in the spring, summer or fall, the odds are high you can find Ray on a scissor lift in a small town. His murals start with a community leader contacting him with an idea. The two talk through the concept and potential location. Once those are firm, Ray gets to work. He’ll take any inspiration photos and tweak those in Photoshop to solidify the design. Then Ray watches the weather forecast for a tranquil week to paint the mural.
For instance, Ray spent a week in Marshall this past August painting a mural on the side of Truman Title. The vibrant mural features a local farmer, Bill Hisle, who farmed more than 1,100 acres in Saline County. Bill lived to be 96 years old before he died in 2017. The mural also includes the Missouri River, the historic Miami bridge, fields of lush corn and the title, “Farmer Proud.”
“The mural is an ode to all Saline County farmers,” says Sandy Hisle, Bill’s daughter-in-law, and a member of the Marshall Cultural Council, which supports the arts in Marshall. “We’ve got lots of great murals around, but this one is the biggest. Our hope is it will attract people to our downtown area.”
The mural in Marshall took seven days and was funded by the council. On his first evening in town, he used a mini projector to illuminate the wall with his design, which he sketched out with a pencil. “The projector is the most foolproof way to work when you’re doing a big-scale mural,” Ray says. “That’s how you get the correct proportions. Then it becomes a glorified paint by numbers.”
Ray blocks out certain portions of the mural to tackle each day, allowing for paint to dry in between. Those breaks also let him assess his work from up high in the scissor lift to down low on the street. He uses high-quality acrylic paint that can withstand the many varieties and harshness of Missouri weather.
Ray has painted 25 murals in Hannibal, such as this 60-by-14-foot one featuring the Mark Twain Zephyr train. “There’s one corner at Main and Broadway where you can literally throw a rock and hit seven different murals by me,” he says. “It’s really become a destination for murals.”
Beyond inclement weather, Ray’s work can also be slowed by a steady stream of visitors — but he doesn’t mind. For instance, he has painted 25 murals in Hannibal, which makes him basically a local. “If I’m painting on Main Street in Hannibal, I add two more days to my schedule because I end up talking to people all day long,” he says.
In fact, Ray has had such an impact on the art scene in Hannibal the mayor presented him with a key to the city last year, as well as a proclamation.
Ray’s murals routinely feature patriotic scenes, historical moments, noteworthy people and beautiful scenery. This mural, titled “Freedom,” is located in Concordia and features Founding Fathers Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, as well as Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. For perspective, the wall is 80 feet wide and 24 feet tall, and Ben Franklin’s head is 14 feet tall.
As Ray thinks about his portfolio of murals, he’s humbled by his role in expanding public art in rural Missouri. “One of the main beauties of public art is it goes to the public; you don’t have to go to it,” he says. “People see it every day and it becomes almost like a friend to them.”
At age 65, Ray says he’s in his prime as an artist. “There’s a time in your career, if you’re in it long enough, where talent and experience blur together,” he says. “That’s where I am today. I have lived in Missouri since I was 5 but I feel like I haven’t really known the state until the last five years. Now, I’ve been to so many of the small towns. I’d like to have a mural in every small town in Missouri. There are good walls everywhere.”
The Mural Process
- The Marshall Cultural Council wanted a large mural to feature the area’s strong dedication to farming. Ray took those ideas and incorporated local farmer Bill Hisle and nearby landmarks with the “Farmer Proud” slogan into his mockup.
- Ray takes the computer-generated design and reduces it to lines or as he calls it a paint by number.
- Ray starts by priming the wall with white paint to create his canvas. Then he uses an LED pocket projector to illuminate the wall with his design, which he sketches on the wall with a pencil.
- From start to finish, it took seven days for Ray to complete the mural, which is on the side of the Truman Title building in downtown Marshall.
To see more of Ray Harvey’s murals, visit rayharveyart.com or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rayharveyart.
If you see a large-scale mural in Missouri, be sure to look for Ray’s signature.