New Ian Berry Mural in the USA

Ian Berry’s 2012 “The Cheyenne Has Gone” is the third  Quilt City USA Murals that will ​'hang​' on the

flood wall adjacent to the Schroeder Expo & Convention​ Center in Paducah, Kentucky.  

Renowned British fiber artist Ian Berry’s denim-on-denim textile creation, “The Cheyenne Has Gone,” made only with blue jeans, featuring a diner in New York, was​ chosen by sponsors Jim and Tom DeCillis to be the next mural in the series. The DeCillis brothers, noted nostalgia​ collectors, reproduced a vintage 50s soda fountain bar in Jim’s historic home in Lower Town so felt a connection to the piece.

Ian Berry’s original artwork made in only denim - The Cheyenne has Gone, 2012

Tanya Neitzke

Tanya Neitzke received her M.F.A. degree at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Illinois.  Neitzke has been included in various solo, two-person, and group exhibitions nationally as well as internationally​ and is the Painting and FYE Assistant Professor at the West Kentucky Community and Technical College’s Paducah School of Art and Design. 

Tanya Neitzke with the mural in Paducah, Kentucky

​British artist Ian Berry traveled from the UK to​ Paducah in 2018 to participate in the Paducah Arts Alliance​ Artist in Residence Program. During that time, he set up a​ large denim installation ​a​nd met with local students, and lectured at PSAD. Tanya met him there and​ learned about his artistry. When she heard “Cheyenne” had​ been chosen and she would be painting the mural, she was​ in disbelief since she had recently met him.

"The Cheyenne Has Gone" Denim on Denim by Ian Berry.​ perfect. “Ian is so innovative. He uses denim in a way that makes it look​ like a painting, and here I am painting to try to make it look like denim!”Tanya exclaimed.

Tanya Neitzke working on the mural in Paducah, Kentucky

​T​anya use​d a product called Pellon as the painting surface o​f the mural. Pellon is a non-woven stabilizing material used in quilting for​ decorative stitch work. The 20-inch panels are primed and joined together​ with frog tape to create the background, then disassembled when the painting is completed. This process enables the artist to paint year-round in​ the comfort of ​her studio. Tanya painted “Cheyenne” on a huge second-​floor wall at PSAD, climbing ladders, sitting on the floor, and contorting to reach every angle.

B​erry sent Tanya his image, and she projected it onto the Pellon strips that she hung on the wall. “My goal was to make it as​ exact as I could. The first layer is black acrylic. In the second layer I used earthtones, so when the painting is outside and the light hits it, the earthtones will add a blocker to the sun.”

Tanya spent around 400 hours on the project​ over a year-and-eight-month​s. “This is the most dry-brushing I've ever done in my life,” she said. “It's a​ technique in which, using a textured bristle brush, paint is rubbed against the surface with no water or vehicle. It takes a lot of patience.”

This February, Tanya put the final touches on the painting and later applied a working varnish, then meticulously took​ each strip down from the wall, rolled it up, and handed it over to the installers.

“I enjoyed the times​ where I would feel like I was​ successfully capturing the​ texture and really connecting​ with Ian’s work. I hoped my​ hand and my mind would make​ that connection and be that​ bridge to the subject I was​ painting. That makes it a lot​ of fun.”

‘Thank you, Ian, for letting me live in your denim world and try something new. I hope this mural invites people to pause, rest, and feel a bit of that stillness, day or night.’ Tanya added.

The mural series was the idea of former mayor Gayle​ Kaler, who saw this as an opportunity to enhance Paducah’s reputation as an international destination for quilters​ and fiber enthusiasts. “The quilt mural project was begun​ as a means to showcase Paducah talent and enhance our​ UNESCO Creative City designation”​ Kaler added.