walk the dog

i was fortunate to be asked by my hometown of crown point to create a centerpiece mural for an 10-location walking tour exploring the heritage and history of the city. a recovered horse-sized fiberglass bulldog would be the canvas for the mural and i would be additionally tasked with creating an accompanying coloring book as well as branding and other assets for the project. the project was funded partially with a grant from the indiana destination development and produced by working in coordination with mary freda-flores from the city of crown point and the good people at the crown point community library.

in 2005, the stewards of the square organized the “best in show” exhibit, featuring 30+ fiberglass bulldogs painted by local artists and sponsored by the businesses of the city. Over the years most of these bulldogs have disappeared from public view. the bulldog i would come to know as “beans” was originally the nwi times own “best in show” bulldog, “news hound.”

the news hound had found its way to the wekowski family, who graciously donated him to the city in the hope he might find a new life at the city’s “bulldog park.” i was referred to the city by a colleague who felt i might be a good fit for the project and after an interview process with the city, i was offered the commission to create “walk the dog” for a late summer reveal.

my pitch to the crown point was to use the bulldog sculpture not as another figurative bulldog, but as a container for a city map that grows-from and is nestled-in the nature that surrounds it. i would not capture today’s facades, but would instead attempt to capture the spirit of the city’s historic structures. when one views the entire mural, they must circle it, “walking the dog,” mirroring the actual walking tour of the 10 historic sites. the structures would be placed on the mural in the order of the tour and the contours of the sculpture forces the viewer to move around the mural to bring each building into focus.

in addition to painting the bulldog, i was tasked with illustrating a 10 page coloring book, featuring each of the stops on the “walk the dog” tour. coloring books are free through the city of crown point and will be distributed throughout the city and especially at each of the locations on the tour. the coloring book gave me the opportunity to get to know the buildings better. it cemented the idea of being true to their structure with minimal artistic flourish.

on painting a fiberglass bulldog:

step one: collect bulldog. take reference photos of all locations. take dog along as a treat.

60 miles from crown point to chicago. show the bulldog your own journey

on painting a fiberglass bulldog:

step two: a spa day for our tired pup

beans fiberglass body had seen better days. he had patches of decoupaged newsprint and gouges where the original work was removed perhaps a bit hastily. he was missing a rear toe and had a number of sizable holes that would require patching. i stripped all of it down, save for a small patch behind his left ear, under a star—a spot to still connect with his original coat.

on painting a fiberglass bulldog:

step three: painting my hometown on a horse-sized bulldog

an acrylic-based primer was necessary to bond the paint to the bare fiberglass and provide a ready canvas for nova color acrylic paint and varnish. my process here was to first sketch the layout of the structures onto the primed surface. then block out the gradient blend of colors that would create the sunrise/sunset over land and into cosmos. building colors were blocked-in, then everything was lined with black and resonant energy captured with linework and spheres before varnish.

detail gallery

on painting a fiberglass bulldog: step four:

the return home

the rental van i picked up in rogers park, chicago was from indiana. that felt auspicious as i packed our pup, all cozy for his ride home. he had absorbed as much of the city as i could pack into him and like me, was ready to return to our hometown to share what had become of us on our journey.

on painting a fiberglass bulldog:

step five: the unveiling, planting beans, a spell complete

the day of the unveiling, i returned to crown point a few hours early to reacquaint myself with the city by “walking the dog.” it was a longer walk than i expected. i had been back to the house where i grew-up before and the street always felt as though it was half as long as i remembered. surely, the entire town of crown point would feel the same? it did not. it is healthy walk for those intrepid enough to make it and one i would highly suggest.

unveiling beans at bulldog park on september 18, 2023

my remarks from unveiling:

My parents, Lewis and Philomene Lain, planted roots in Crown Point at 265 south Ridge Street in 1953. Five brothers and one sister later, I was born at Saint Anthony’s Hospital in 1977. I grew up here. My formative days were here. 

My mother and I used to walk downtown when I was little; we would visit Ben Franklin for a treat and later The Antique Mall for the same, when the Cheshire Building took on another face.  After school, I used to cut through Maplewood Cemetery on the walk home from Solon Robinson, stopping to scrutinize the worn gravestones to find the oldest one—the one my siblings insisted they’d found before me.  My first job at The Crown Theatre would teach me the value of starting small, working my way up and understanding that many important parts make a whole. The small open window of the Then Abandoned Sheriff’s House was maybe just too appealing to a young lewis, curious if the tunnels under Crown Point were real. And the story of a tank monument, re-installed to NOT look like it was attacking the city, always tickled me when riding my bike to Timothy Ball, just past the Erie Trailhead, to play on the massive playground fort there. 

That was my Crown Point. This collection of historic structures was a sleepy, small town back then. Everything was a short walk away and the sunset didn’t always mean the day was over. It was a magic place to grow up and when I finally left for college in 1996, i carried that magic with me.    it has inspired and guided me greatly.

Now, in my 15th year as a full-time artist I I have been honored with the opportunity to hopefully return some of that magic. Creating Walk the Dog has been one of the most humbling, introspective and enlightening creative experiences of my life and while I will honor my allotted time, know that I could talk for hours of the unforeseen experience of intimately capturing the spirit of the structures of my hometown, one brush stroke at a time.

My creative work at this point is fueled by the idea that a human-made structure collects the energy of the people that interact with it. When we walk into new construction, we can feel the newness of it— an empty container for life and the activities it creates.  On the other hand, the gravity of say, a walk through The Old Courthouse can be felt vibrating in its every brick.  It was pure magic then to have had the opportunity to work with one of the original Best in Show Bulldogs.

 A thing created with intention to be shared is a powerful thing to be valued and appreciated and The Times Staff poured intention into their “News Hound.”  I admired his old coat of newsprint and typeface and maybe he became a sort of Clark Kent to my lewis lain, but I was fortunate to see his true identity.

And so the bulldog I would come to know as beans, found its way to me with more than a coat of glued-on newsprint, it came infused with that very same energy that resonates throughout  this city—that stuff of humanity-- and even when his coat was cleaned and primed to nearly-new, his old creative spirit shone through.  Structures do that. Though they change identity over time, the magic of their creation is evident in their being.  I would honor that energy not by re-imagining another figurative bulldog, but by using its form as a sort of container for the moving energy of a city map that grows from the foundation of its structure and is nestled, coexistent, in the nature that surrounds it.  I tried to capture the energy of the structures of my hometown, unified inside the spirit of Crown Point—the beloved, bulldog.

Crown Point is my hometown and though my journey has taken me to my chosen home of Chicago, I can still feel the energy of the roots my parents planted here and the fortunate privilege I was dealt that provided the creative tools to take advantage of opportunities throughout my 45 years. This town grew astronauts and it grew artists and I am honored to be able to give this piece of my art to the town that fostered my growth. 

I’d like to express my gratitude to the Indiana Destination Development, to Mayor Land and the Crown Point City Council. Also thank you to the Wekowski Family and the Stewards of the Square. Thank you to George Tachtiris (retired av-geek and beloved CPHS teacher) for the nudge.  And finally thank you to Mary Freda–Flores for guiding me on this journey back home.  Thank you all and thank you Crown Point.

-lewis lain, September 18, 2023

“walk the dog” publicity