Artist Paints 40-foot Patriotic Panorama Honoring Branches of Military, Hopes Grandpa’s ‘Looking Down’

Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

A talented high school art teacher has produced an enormous, 40-foot (12-meter) patriotic military mural for an Iowa state park as a tribute to the nation’s brave veterans.

Dave Schaeffer, 43, of Blue Grass, Iowa, teaches art to ninth through twelfth grades at Davenport West High School in his hometown of Davenport. He was approached by the town’s Friends of Veterans Memorial Park Committee, who knew of his large-scale work, to paint a mural for the park to be placed alongside an existing bench, plaque, and flag. The opportunity was too special to pass up.

“The group had gone around and seen some of the other towns in Iowa or in the Midwest that had memorial tributes ... and were like, ‘We want something similar to this, but we want it to be unique ... something roughly 40 feet long, is that doable?’” Schaeffer told The Epoch Times.

Dave Schaeffer's patriotic mural in the process of being completed in his home art studio. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

Completed panels of Schaeffer's panorama mural sequence. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

Schaeffer met with the mayor of Davenport and Vietnam veterans Lyle Peterson and Bill Churchill in June of 2020, sitting 6 feet apart with their masks on. “I had a few designs, like mockups,” Schaeffer said. “We went through eight revisions until we got to the final.”

The artist composed a digital sketch in preparation for the humongous undertaking. He was excited but a bit intimidated to begin.

“I knew I had the possibility to show my talents off. I was very excited about this when they talked about a ‘local landmark,’ and thinking about this being my legacy piece, something that people would travel to see,” Schaeffer said. “I also [was] excited when we started talking about the size, that you might actually be able to see it from Illinois.”

He planned to execute the mural on ten 4-foot by 8-foot (1.2-meter by 2.4-meter) moisture-sensitive Masonite panels, placed side by side to create a continuous panorama. Before setting out, Schaeffer had no idea that there was a protocol on the order in which U.S. military branches must be represented. The sequence must run thusly: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, last of all.

Dave Schaeffer stands before his finished mural, nearly finished. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

“Left to right, it should always be the way they go into military battle,” he said.

Schaeffer and the veterans felt it would be inappropriate to depict real soldiers, reasoning that “no matter who we picked, somebody else would be upset.” So they opted for a collage of military signs with newspaper clippings from the Second World War, Vietnam War, and letters from veterans written home to their loved ones.

While gathering material, Schaeffer relished the research and the details, such as the difference between an F-14 and an F-15 fighter jet. He also chose to include a personal element.

Panels 1-4 Depict the U.S. Army and U.S. Marines

The U.S. Army and U.S. Marines are depicted in the now-finished patriotic painting. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

“One of my grandpa’s letters,” he said. “I don’t want you to be able to read all the letters, but I wanted you to get some of that energy and how it affected each of those soldiers. ... I enjoyed hiding things.

“My grandpa was on a battleship, so I hid his name inside of the battleship. He’s passed away now, but I hope that he’s looking down. I hope that makes him proud.”

Panels 5-8 Depict the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force

A sailor and fighter pilot are depicted alongside their respective branches in the finished mural. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

Using a process called posterization in his final design to simplify the colors and tones, Schaeffer mixed “a whole rainbow” of oil paints in his home studio. He spent ten months between spring break and Christmas 2022 working on what would become his magnum opus around being an active father of three and even had a little help from the kids.

“Luckily I usually sleep four or five hours a night,” he said. “I don’t want to give up my passion for my art or my creative side, but I also don’t want to give up things with my own kids, my family, so I tried to make them the priority. When they went to bed, that’s when I went to work.”

To protect the surface from the elements—it will be on permanent display in the outdoor Veterans Memorial Park—and potential vandals, Schaeffer coated the Masonite in multiple layers of exterior enamel and clear graffiti guard. “That way, if anybody would destruct it or spray paint on it, there’s a chemical you would use to take the clear off that would not adjust or make any flaws in the painting underneath,” he said.

Panels 6-10 Depict the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard

A U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and a sailor of the U.S. Coast Guard are depicted in the now-completed painting. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

At the time of writing, the finished mural is sitting in Schaeffer’s garage, as flooding in Davenport has delayed the opening. Meanwhile, a 40-foot (12-meter) frame is being prepared, with a glass cover and spotlights to accentuate the artwork.

He had not seen all of the panels together, said Schaeffer, until they were lined up against the back of his garage for a photo shoot for local media. Standing back, I became very emotional,“ he said. ”When it’s framed and we have the ribbon cutting, I know I'll lose it. I’m an emotional guy and I poured so much into it.”

Schaeffer, who has loved art since early childhood, switched majors several times before studying art at the University of Iowa. “I think my parents were a little nervous, [of my] being an art major, that I was going to be a starving artist,” Schaeffer said, adding their fears dissolved when he entered the steady profession of teaching with “a lot of art on the side.”

The finished mural in its entirety. Courtesy of Dave Schaeffer

That art has evolved from drawing and painting to incorporating found objects and sculpture, as well as chainsaw carving and large-scale murals—including one on his house—to inspire his students to think outside the box.

“The thing I always tell my students is, I hope I’m not done as an artist,” Schaeffer said. “Right now, I’m getting my master’s and taking classes, learning new techniques.

“You should never stop learning.”

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