The artist has a simple philosophy.
“If you want people to stop and look at a mural, you have to have a lot going on in it.”
The mural that Mancos resident Brad Goodell painted in Cortez has been finished for a few months. It took him from June through October to paint the 1,000 square foot space located on the side of the Rent-A-Center builidng in downtown Coertez. And he's already thinking about what wall he's going to paint next.
The Cortez mural depicts a peach harvest from the 1930s, and is typical of the kind of mural that he enjoys creating. One of the artists that he has studied is Diego Rivera, a Mexican leftist of the 1930s, who was obsessed with the oppression of peasants and working people.
“It was almost like climbing a mountain, in a way,” he said.
Goodell had to build high scaffolding to finish the top part of the mural. At some point in the future, he said, there will be a plaque near the mural with an explanation of the history of the painting itself.
Even after Goodell was done with the mural, there was more to do.
“You really have to dig deep at the end of a mural to finish it,” he said. “It's almost done and you want to quit, but there are even more things to fine tune.”
For instance, he stood back to look at the completed mural and decided that the peaches were too round, so he touched up each one of them to satisfy his goal of making them look more real.
This is Goodell's second outdoor mural, and he's hoping to be able to work on one in Albuquerque, N.M.
“It's in downtown Albuquerque, and it's for locals, so I may not get the commission.”
But he's always looking for new opportunities. He's talking to several business people in Mancos about being able to work on another mural locally.
Goodell has been a commercial artist for more than 30 years and has a business on Etsy.com where he sells his etched glass items, mostly for weddings.
“The Internet is an interesting place for artists,” he said.
He's also done some glass art for architecture and some illustration. He and his wife, Maggie, are always developing new products that he can work on.
“You have to pay attention to the trends, the fit, the craft, and the price,” he said. His passion is moving into more of the fine art side of his work.
Goodell uses acrylic paints in his mural work, mostly because he says it's easier to work with. He puts a clear varnish over the painting with ultraviolet inhibitors, which withstands not only the sunlight, but heat and cold as well. In case of vandalism or other possible mishaps, he uses a kind of varnish that can be removed in case he needs to retouch the work.
Goodell's work can be seen www.etsy.com/shop/bradgoodell and at www.facebook.com/brad.goodell.