State Theater Mural  by Theresa Shelton 

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The Historic State Theater in Elizabethtown is a wonderful piece of history in Hardin County, Kentucky. Many people with a desire to bring it back to life are in the process of acquiring funds to refurbish the inside of the old theater. The Board commissioned me to produce an oil painting for the front entrance hall, in memory of the late Charles Logsdon, who was very active in the preservation of our local history. 

After hunting for reference photos for several months, the composition  developed into a collage of scenes and buildings that were situated close to the theater on US 31W in the 1940-50 era. Most of them disappeared years ago, but hopefully they will be remembered through my painting.

The painting consists of 4 panels totaling 7'x 24'.

To follow my progress, scroll down this page....................

After sifting through the old photos we found, these images were chosen to make up the composition. 

Getting the photos in a pleasing composition was a challenge. Below is an ink sketch showing how I decided to place the subjects.

All the preliminary decisions have been finalized and I am anxious to get started. Assembling the stretcher strips for the painting was my first task.

After deciding I needed more space to work than my house studio could offer, we moved the frames to the upstairs of our  business, Haynes Greenhouse into my 'Art Attic' Gallery. After rearranging paintings and furniture, I have enough wall space to set all 4 paintings up together. 

My husband, Tim, helped stretch the canvas. Actually, there were 3 of us, another helper was behind the camera!

We hung plastic drop clothes on the wall and cardboard on the floor to protect everything from paint splatters.

Finally, I can pick up a Brush!

My first step is to tone the canvas to get rid of the white. I chose a sunny mustard color that should blend in with the old buildings. Most of this undercoating will be covered up at the end of the project.

After sketching the the composition on the canvases, I started blocking in the sky areas with a thin coat of paint. Next, I filled in the lightest colors of the buildings followed by the darkest shadows.  That leaves the mustard undercoat showing in all the other areas. Now, I can see the images starting to come alive.

After the initial block-in is dry, I need to focus on each scene.  At this point the mustard undertone is starting to disappear.

                                  Close up of Methodist Church 

And the brushes continue to fly.............  

Getting to sit down on the job finally.

The building I am working on in this panel was the original Post Office, afterwards it served as the Hardin County Library and presently is home to the Hardin County Museum

The whole project is starting to look more finished.

This is the first panel.

The left top is the Christian Church  .

Right top is the Baptist Church

Bottom is the Elizabethtown school which burned from an exploding furnace. It sat directly across the street from the State Theater.

Second Panel

Sinclair Gas Station at the top

First Presbyterian Church at bottom left.

State Theater bottom right.

Third Panel

South 31W with Court House in distance at the top of panel.

Elizabethtown Post Office at bottom.

Fourth panel

St. James Catholic Church on top left.

The old house that stood on the corner opposite of St. James.

The Methodist Church on the bottom.

The paintings were hung in the front lobby of the State Theater on Nov. 30, 2004 with the help of my dear husband, Tim.

The unveiling ceremony took place Dec. 1, 2004 with a standing room only crowd in the Main Gallery.

Dr. Larry Hall, who sponsored the mural, delivered a heart warming speech about the character of his longtime friend, the late Charlie Logsdon.

         Dr. Larry Hall

Diane Logsdon, wife of Charlie Logsdon and I pose at the unveiling.

All the guest filed by the mural for their first glimpse.

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I managed to live through the delivery of a short speech...............

An exhibit of my other works were on display in the main Gallery during the unveiling. It will hang until Dec. 27, 2004. Gallery hours are 9-5 Monday - Friday.

Making sure they were all hanging straight!

Being involved with this project has been a wonderful experience. I hope the Elizabethtown community can reminisce about the past each time they view the mural.