Antiville art

Marie McKinley’s father didn’t want to give up his Case dealership in the late 1960s.

Still, the store closed. But the red building remained until Indiana Department of Transportation’s project to widen and level U.S. 27 north of Portland required it to come down.

In the time since, several neighbors mentioned to McKinley that the remaining barn would be ideal for a mural.

“I woke up in August and I said, ‘I guess today’s the day,’” said McKinley who lives on county road 500 North about a mile away from where she grew up. “So I started.”

After spending some time working on design and planning, McKinley started painting the mural on the side of the barn at the corner of U.S. 27 and county road 400 North this week.

She started by painting a silver base coat and then took about three hours to add a giant script “Antiville” to the west side of the mural. The word has since been surrounded by colorful ditch lilies and raspberries, two items common to the area.

“I’ve never seen raspberries on a mural before,” said McKinley.

With windy conditions Wednesday, she was working on small details with a brush instead of spray paint. One of those was a cricket she plans to use as her “signature,” with the legs forming an “MM” for her initials.

The east side of the mural is designed as a tribute both to Houser Farm Equipment, the Case dealership her father Raymond Houser and grandfather R.D. Houser ran from 1954 through 1968, and the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association. 

It will feature the Case eagle emblem and a farm scape with a Case tractor.

The bulk of the mural is expected to be complete by the end of next week.

McKinley, a 1987 graduate of Jay County High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana Wesleyan University. Her works have been displayed at Arts Place’s locations in Portland and Hartford City — she has also been an instructor at the Jay County Campus of Arts Place in the past — Logansport Art Association and Arts Depot in Union City. She has been a member of The Alcove Artists since 2019 and has a booth at the farmers’ market in Berne where she sells porch signs, barn quilts and a variety of other items.

But she’s never worked on a mural before.

“It’s terrifying,” she said. “I told my dad, if I screw up I can just paint it all silver again. That’s the good thing about paint, if you screw up, you can just hide it.”

So far, though, she’s been pleased.

“This is my first attempt at doing something large scale,” said McKinley. “I’m really enjoying it. I wouldn’t mind doing more.”

McKinley could have applied for a grant for the project but said she didn’t want to wait to go through that process. She wanted to get it done for her parents, who are both in their 80s.

So far she’s funded the project on her own — she projects that she’ll spend about $800 on paint — and is accepting community donations. Anyone who donates to the project will get to vote on what model of Case tractor — 430 narrow, 430 wide, 630 or 830 — will be included in the mural. (She plans to add the tractor in the spring.)

Donations (with votes) can be sent to Antiville Mural, Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association, c/o Marie McKinley, 895 E. 500 North, Portland, IN 47371. Checks should be made out to Tri-State. (Anyone who donates at least $25 will have their name on a plaque at the base of the mural.)

Drivers heading north on U.S. 27 were already noticing her work Tuesday, posting on social media about the new pop of color on the west side of the highway.

“Not sure who's responsible, but the mural at Antiville looks great!” read one comment.

“To get a positive comment … it’s fulfilling,” McKinley said when she was told about the post Wednesday. “I really wanted to bless my parents. I really wanted to fill their hearts in their old age. …

“So to give something to the community, that’s really fulfilling.”