An Idea Put to Paper

In the spring of 2003, Bradley J. Parrish was contacted by County Line Elementary School principal Mr. Pat Seghers. Brad met with Mr. Seghers, Mrs. Lisa Westling, (the art teacher) and Melissa Nikolic and Kevin Nodolf (the physical education teachers). They told Brad they were interested in having a mural painted on their climbing wall. Mr. Nodolf showed Brad a color copy of a wall at another school painted in a European Alps design. Brad agreed to design something for them so they could present it to the board and seek a grant to cover the cost of doing this very large mural. Brad also wanted to involve the children in this 500 plus student body to play a part in painting this mural. Everyone agreed that this would make it much more meaningful to everyone.

To Brad, the design for this wall was obvious. From the moment he set eyes on it, the colorful climbing nubs reminded him of little fish. He immediately envisioned a pod of dolphins swimming through crystal clear tropical waters surrounded by beautiful, bright, colorful coral and all kinds of tropical fish. The fish would blend in nicely with the climbing nubs rendering them almost invisible. Furthermore, Brad envisioned the children painting many of the fish and working on the coral along with him. Brad and Mrs. Westling talked about how she could work with the kids in doing their part of the mural. The school and the board loved the idea. However, there was one possible obstacle to overcome. For years, the school board had been considering expanding the gym. Mr. Seghers told Brad that the expansion was unlikely and had been rejected many times in the past.

A year passed and Mr. Seghers contacted Brad once again to say that the board had approved the grant donation for the mural. By this time Mrs. Westling had applied for and received a grant from the Germantown Kiwanis Club for $250. Unfortunately, the grant fell far short of the cost of the paint, sprayers, and mechanical lift Brad would need to complete the mural. Brad realized he would need donations and support from all of the companies involved in the project.

The faculty members who met with Brad earlier offered to prep and help paint the wall. Brad, who has three children attending this school, agreed to donate all his time...not just for his kids, but for all the children at the school and the many generations to follow. It is Brad's hope that every child who sees the mural will realize that big things can be achieved by giving of yourself to others.

Brad, who has been told he is crazy for taking on this project when he has so many other obligations, says,” It is my hope by my contributing my time and talent through painting this mural, that I reach a child or many children, and inspire within them the dreams and ambitions I felt as a child that motivated me and made me realize that greatness in whatever you do in life comes with dreams and visions that you and only you possess.

"For the child that dreams of becoming an artist, or for that mater a marine biologist, may this work I paint be the flame that ignites that fire within them. We as adults and role models owe it to ourselves and our children to share our knowledge and experience through our God given talents. A child can not appreciate what they have not seen or experienced. It is my hope that this work will inspire other schools around the world to follow suit and for other noted artists to realize that there is no greater work that you can produce than that which touches those that are tomorrow's future. I also wanted to send out a message load and clear, that regardless of who you are, and no matter how much you make and what your time and worth, there is no price or accolade that could ever make you richer, or feel more successful, than that of  giving completely to a child.

The Actual Painting Begins

There have been many challenges in making this very large project possible. Everything from it's immense size and the type of paint that is to be used on a concrete wall that will be climbed on for many years by thousands of kids, to the constant pain Parrish has had to endure in his right wrist from a car accident a couple years back. Parrish working with Sherwin Williams decided using a strong water based enamel and putting on a final clear coat would be the best move. " It's nothing like working with oil or acrylic paints on canvas, or pastels or even watercolor on paper. The best way I can describe it is like taking butter on a 90 degree day and brushing it on a piece of glass. There are many methods I adopted to over come many obstacles such as these. Air brushing almost the entire wall was in itself a major undertaking. However I had the finest spray unit on the market on my side. The Graco HVLP spray system allowed me to maintain the greatest control over the 1000 square foot mural, both for the large vast areas to the finest detailed areas. However 75 percent of the wall needed to be brush painted by hand. That is where I found that only by mixing colors for each specific area in containers would serve as my pallet throughout the entire project. Even the kids were given small plastic pallets with an array of colored paints that they themselves had to mix. The water based paint went on like a wash, with areas that needed more punch receiving more of the same color. Blending colors was difficult in a piece this big as the water based paint dries rather quickly. The kids picked up on this right away and did a terrific job!" Brad having many other commitments agreed to do this in his spare time. Everyone who knows Brad knows there is little or non of that. However Brad came in at all times of the day and night to continue work on this mural, sometimes if only for two hours between meetings or coming in at night and working till morning. A previous scheduled appearance in New York put the mural on hold for several weeks and was the most trying part in Brad wanting to complete the mural before years end. Upon returning Brad worked day and night to complete it and did so for the fifth grade graduation night. Coming back only to work on a thousand little details only he would notice. He completed the work on June 30th 2004, dedicating this mural to his daughter Haley and his two sons Andrew and Adam. Brad also noted on the bottom of the mural the class of 2004 as being the children that made the mural what it is today.

Media Attention Surrounding the Mural

Word of the project reached both the local and national media shortly after Parrish began work, however, Brad did not want to have any media contact until the project was well underway and he was heading for the finish line. Brad informed the school of this when the calls began coming in. Brad had agreed to do an interview with PBS just before agreeing to do this mural, however due to his work load and responsibilities he had to delay the taping several times. He also stated that he would agree to do the interview as long as they shot footage of the kids working on this mural. The interview about Parrish and his artwork which was being shot and used to air over the next year was filmed early in the morning as the kids began painting their fish on the wall and the rest of the day Brad was interviewed at his home with his children. When we receive a copy of this interview, we will attempt to have an excerpt from the interview posted on line. Several national trade publications have contacted Brad for interviews and have taken photographs of the final work. The official unveiling will take place as the new school year begins. Press releases will be sent out in the days to come.

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