Written By Ty Lounsbury
Wallenpaupack is updating some of its hallway murals, and Hailey Compton is a senior who is painting a new mural in front of Mrs. Pete’s room. It used to be a graphic design mural, but now that it’s no longer used for that, the art hallway needed amakeover. However, this isn’t the first mural she has painted at school; she also painted it in the Lakeside Lounge. Although she started planning both murals around the same time in January, she didn’t start painting the art hallway mural until February 21, and her goal is to be finished with this mural by the end of April or the beginning of May.
Although there is no strict timeline to get this mural done, Hailey has a clear vision for what she wants to do and lots of time to work on it. She has early dismissal as a senior and comes back during fourth block and after school to work on the paintings. The reason why the word “painting” is plural is thather mural is not just one big painting; it’s a gallery of severalwell-known paintings that she is recreating. The list of paintings includes The Starry Night (by Vincent van Gogh), The Great Wave off Kanagwa (by Hokusai), The Water-Lily Pond (by Claude Monet), American Gothic (by Grant Wood), Girl with aPearl Earring (by Johannes Vermeer), Wheatfield with Crows(also by Vincent van Gogh), and The Blue Dancers (by Edgar Degas). This is an ambitious project, but she has already completed The Starry Night and The Great Wave of Kanagwa and is in the process of painting The Water-Lily Pond.
As someone who has always been interested in art, this was an amazing opportunity for her to use her creative eye to create something truly wonderful. In the future, Hailey would like to open her own art studio/shop where she could sell her own work. However, she is also considering going to cosmetology school to be able to open a salon, so she is taking a gap year to work and save money. No matter what she decides, she intends on going to college for a business degree because whether she decides to go to cosmetology school or not, the plan is still to run her own business in the future. Although not everything is figured out yet, it doesn’t need to be. Wallenpaupack gives a big thanks to Hailey Compton for giving our hallways extra color and we wish her good luck in all her future endeavors!
