MURAL TOUR OF WEST PLAINS-2
GIFTED ARTISTS HAVE CONTRIBUTED THEIR TALENTS IN THE FORM OF MURALS TO WEST PLAINS
1963 MURAL
Missouri State University-West Plains
Hass-Darr Hall | Garfield Avenue
1963 Lounge (Artist: Laura Driskell)
OZARKS MUSICAL HERITAGE MURAL
MSU-WP Drago Hall
211 West Main Street
(Artist: Artist: Michael McClure)
ABSTRACT ART & BIKE MURAL
BURO
202 West Main Street
Art deco pays homage to the West Plains Bike Route. (Artist: Laura Driskell)
WILDFLOWER CAFE’ MURAL
207 South Aid Ave.
Cafe’ helps local high school special education students learn job skills. (Artist: Forrest Ogden)
EVANS ARCADE MURAL
Southeast Corner of Court Square
Neighbors give a friendly greeting from their windows in the Evans Arcade. (Artist: Michael McClure)
MISSOURI WILDLIFE MURAL
WEST PLAINS BANK
11 Court Square
Hangs in the lobby and features wildlife and plant life in 1978. (Artist: Gary R. Lucy)
THE PROTECTOR MURAL
Luster Arcade
14 Court Square
A collaboration of two artists stretching across decades. (Artists: Charles E. Kimberlin II and Dr. Bolaji Ogunwo)
RELEASE THE PEACE MURAL
Luster Arcade
14 Court Square
Companion piece to The Protector. (Artist: Dr. Bolaji Ogunwo)
COCA-COLA MURAL
Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OZSBI)
408 Washington Ave.
This Coca-Cola sign was brought back to life in 2021. (Artist: Sandra Pemberton)
ICE CREAM MURAL
Spring Dipper
675 Missouri Avenue
Spray paint graffit art. (Artist: Mike Devine)
HOWELL COUNTY TRIBUTE MURAL
Rocky Burgess property
Highway 63, Pomona
Sign of gratitude to those who serve our
country. (Artist: Sandra Pemberton)
THE PROTECTOR MURAL
“All art is a gift. It is first of all a gift that the maker can do it. It is then a gift to someone else, whether they pay for it or not.” These words from the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh seem particularly appropriate for the gift of the mural that has been bestowed upon downtown West Plains.
“The Protector,” a massive-scale mural, was officially unveiled in late 2022 on the north wall of 14 Court Square in Luster Arcade.
The mural represents a beautiful collaboration between two artists stretching across decades to create a work of art which is breathtaking in both scope and meaning.
“The Protector” is based on a portrait by late local artist Charles E. Kimberlin II. The name was given to the original portrait by its current owners Crockett and Tonya Oaks, who commissioned the mural as owners of the building upon which it is painted.
Charles E. Kimberlin II was a 1936 graduate of West Plains High School and longtime downtown business owner. During the dedication of the new mural, Kimberlin’s son, Charles E. Kimberlin III, recalled that his father began painting as a hobby and did not have aspirations of selling his work.
“One day, Dad was looking at a blank spot on the wall in his shop above the china display and decided it would be a good place to hang some of his paintings,” said Kimberlin III. “He just put them up for decoration, but almost immediately, someone wanted to buy one.” From there, as the old saying goes, the rest is history.
Kimberlin soon locally became a highly-regarded artist. After a few of his works were sold to people visiting, or passing through the area, his acclaim grew.
The artist responsible for the larger-than-life mural is Dr. Bolaji Ogunwo, a Nigerian artist who has more than 50 international art exhibitions to his credit.
He currently is a studio artist and painting lecturer at the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, Akoka, in Nigeria.
Dr. Ogunwo worked tirelessly for 10 days to recreate Kimberlin’s original portrait while infusing touches of his own artistic style.
“The mother protects her children, she looks to the horizon, the heavens. The older child looks up to her but the young boy is the future. While we look at him, he’s looking back at us,” said Dr. Ogunwo, describing the significance of the figures in the painting.
“The Protector” is not Dr. Ogunwo’s first mural to adorn in a wall in West Plains: In 2021, Crockett and Tonya Oaks commissioned a mural, “Helping Hands,” that now graces an interior wall of Christos House West Plains Resale.
“I have been many places in the states,” said Dr. Ogunwo, “but West Plains is my second home.”
By Chris Herbolsheimer, West Plains Daily Quill
