Hartselle man makes mural for Les Amies in honor of daughter

One of the biggest inspirations in Jerry Powell’s life has been his daughter.

One of the first large-scale paintings went into his daughter’s nursery when she was a baby.

Fast forward to 2015, the Les Amies Sorority needed a backdrop for their Mardi Gras themed winter formal dance Saturday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Powell delved back into his painting hobby and came through with one of the largest paintings he’s ever done.

He said his daughter also had an inspiration for the painting.

“She suggested that I paint Jackson Square in New Orleans,” Powell said. “I guess that she’s been one of my biggest inspirations for paintings.”

Jerry Powell painted the above scene of Jackson Square in New Orleans used at the Les Amies winter formal dance.

Powell, a self-taught painter, said it took him about 24 to 30 hours to complete the painting, although he completed it over the last several weeks.

“I had some vacation time that I had to use up before the end of the year,” Powell said. “So I had some extra time over the last month to do the painting.”

Powell’s canvas for the large painting is rather unique. He’s using the back side of flooring that was about to be discarded at a local business.

However, painting the image was a difficult task for him.

“I didn’t have a place large enough to paint it,” Powell said. “So I just unrolled the part of the canvas that I was painting on the floor and then had to carefully walk around it while the paint dried. I think it turned out pretty good.”

He said his painting was the centerpiece of the backdrop on the stage.