An artist throughout her life, Kerry Allen has a long history of painting murals in St. Charles Parish.
The retired teacher’s first was in a school library in 2002 – she estimates she went on to pain 18 to 20 more in St. Charles Parish schools from there. After retiring 12 years ago, she’s continued to create murals for homes and businesses as she’s worked as a studio artist.
“I’m actually not a mural artist. That’s the funny thing,” Allen said. “I’m a studio artist, an oil painter and charcoal artist, and I work at my studio at home. But over the years, murals have just been something that kind of fell into my lap and I enjoy doing them. It always was something that just brightened up the schools and that the kids enjoyed.”
Two years go, she completed a mural at the West Bank Bridge Park when it was being remodeled.
And, most recently, Allen left her creative mark at St. Charles Parish Hospital, where she completed her latest mural for the hospital’s emergency room.
The mural showcases the bright and scenic landscape of St. Charles Parish complete with the Hale Boggs Bridge, a barge moving through the Mississippi River beneath, pelicans flying through the sky, cypress trees and wildlife.
Allen noted the project took approximately 200 hours to complete, including the preparation of a framed platform for the mural and installation. Because of space limitations and the desire to keep from disrupting the ER’s workers, Allen and her husband Tim constructed the mural on a platform built from two mahogany veneer panels.
The opportunity arose when hospital representatives reached out to Allen, who they knew from her involvement with the St. Charles Parish Art Guild – the guild exhibits artwork at the hospital through a rotating exhibition. While discussions began last August, approval was not finalized until May.
The hospital provided a reference image and collaborated with Allen to visualize what would be the final product, in this case a river-themed scene.
Allen said she usually works in oils, but used acrylic paint for the hospital mural as it was more practical for the task at hand. Because of the coverage of acrylic, virtually everything required two coats. Once finished, she applied a sealer to protect it from everyday wear and give it a finished sheen.
Because the ER area has no windows and relies on artificial lighting, Allen made the mural very colorful and vibrant to help brighten the space.
Allen says that she hopes it will, at least in a small way, brighten the day a bit for those who see it.
“A lot of people work there and then all of the people who go to the ER … I’m hoping when they look up and see it, it’ll make them smile,” Allen said.
“I’m very thankful that this is what I get to do and that I can share it with people, and that it can make other people so happy.”
She doesn’t remember a time in her life that he wasn’t connected with art in some way. As far back as she can recall, she was drawing. She moved into acrylics and eventually oils and charcoal. After retiring from teaching, she took classes at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts to continue to refine her skills.
And continuing to refine and improve, Allen says, is forever an ongoing process.
“You never really stop learning,” said Allen. “There’s always something more to learn. I still study, I still practice.”
Allen said she’s always got something going on at her studio.
“I can’t imagine not having a project underway,” she said. “This is such a part of me … I’ve always got something in the works. I have an exhibition coming up in October. I’ve been commissioned to do paintings. I always have a class to prepare for or a workshop upcoming … I just know I could not be without it. It’s part of who I am.”
Being an artist can be a solitary experience, especially when working on a significant project. In this case, day after day, Allen saw the mural progressing at her home, largely without outside feedback.
But after installing the mural at the hospital, she got that feedback.
“I was very happy that they were pleased with it,” said Allen. “The people at the hospital were so nice, appreciative and supportive. And they were excited to get this mural – it’s not something you think about during the entire creative process, but once you get there and you hear them tell you how it brightens up their space … it just really makes my heart happy.”
