Cotter trout mural turning heads
The biggest brown trout in Cotter is not in the White River, it’s at the corner of McLean and Second Street. The huge brown trout, named “Walter,” is 24 feet long and 8 feet tall.
Walter is in a mural being painted by local artist Duane Hada and four young assistants, Breanna Hickmott, 19, Michael Schraeder, 19, Ava Obert, 17 and 17-year-old Caleb Bailey.
The mural is being painted on the Billingsley Building, which was constructed in 1912 according to a plaque on the wall of the building. It is currently a vacation rental home owned by Joey and Vanessa Peglar.
The couple own several properties in Cotter and decided the Billingsley Building would be a good fit for a mural.
“That wall didn’t have any windows and it just struck us as a great blank canvas,” said Joey Peglar. “The building has great visibility and we wanted people to be able to see it.”
While Peglar said he doesn’t fish, Hada was a natural choice for the artist.
“He’s such a great artist. He’s local and he’s well known,” said Peglar. “It just seemed like a great fit and like it would be mutually beneficial.”
Hada is internationally known for his artwork, particularly the fish in the rivers and creeks found in the Twin Lakes Area. He works in multiple mediums including paint, wood, fiberglass and his latest medium, hammered stainless steel.
The Cotter mural is not his first. In college, Hada worked for a professor who painted Hollywood sets. From there, as his reputation grew, Hada was commissioned to create murals at nature centers across the state of Arkansas.
A fixture in the area, Hada said he spoke with people in Cotter who wanted to promote the town’s identity as a fishing haven. The idea to put murals on the walls of local buildings was born.
The artist says he’s spoken with local building owners and some are contemplating commissioning him to create works for their buildings. Peglar is the first to commission a mural for a Cotter building.
“Joey Peglar contacted me and said he wanted a mural on his building that represented Cotter,” Hada said. “He told me to quote him a price and get him a sketch. He’s the easiest guy to work with. I made him a sketch, he looked at it and said do it.”
The work has been ongoing for a few weeks now. The mural is being done with a special acrylic paint that resists fading under harsh UV light. Hada said the paint also has more elasticity than other types of paint and stands up well to the elements.
As for the young people working with him, Hada said they have been a tremendous help and the experience is good for them. Like the professor who helped him early in his career, Hada said it’s important to him to help talented young artists.
Hickmott, from Mountain Home, is currently a scholarship student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design home for the summer. Hickmott was a private student of Hada’s. In addition to working on the mural, Hada is allowing her to use studio space at his Rivertown Art Gallery.
Obert, also from Mountain Home, is a rising senior who’s been taking private lessons with Hada since she was 9 years old. Hada said Obert is talented enough that her work sells in his gallery, and sells well. She also works for him at the gallery.
Bailey, a Cotter resident and one of Hada’s fly fishing students, is helping with logistics on site as well as trying his hand in little doses on the mural. Hada said Bailey is talented and has made his own fly fishing rod as he’s come to enjoy the outdoors over the past few years.
Schraeder, like Obert, displayed artistic talent at a young age, according to Hada.
“When he was about 11 or 12 years old, he painted a small scale mural for his room and just knocked it out of the park,” Hada said. “His dad is a local guide, he is an accomplished fly angler and he’s studying fisheries biology at Arkansas Tech University.”
The mural is already attracting attention with people stopping to talk with Hada and his helpers. Pictures on the work in progress can be seen on Hada’s Facebook page, along with several other local Facebook pages.
“The response has been great, people like it and it’s great to be able to do public work,” Hada said. “This is good for everyone, Joey Peglar gets a beautiful piece of art, the public gets to see it and the town is beautified. We just hope we get to do more of this.”
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