The previously planned fox has been swapped for a coyote on the mural that also includes a sunset over Kalamalka Lake, apple blossoms and sage bushes.   (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Vibrant Downtown Mural

Fox swapped for coyote on downtown Vernon mural

Jun 26, 2023 | 12:04 PM

A mural being painted in downtown Vernon has been altered to have a more local feel.

The design for the artwork on the north side of the building housing Service Canada on 30th Avenue had originally included an image of a fox, but at the June 12 meeting, Vernon city council made a suggestion that a coyote be painted instead as it is a more locally recognized animal and plays a role in the Sylix creation story.

“We did make a change, so it is a coyote. We just used a vibrant colour palate and we chose a coyote in the end because apparently it better represents the wildlife population in the area,” Layla Folkmann, one of the artists, told Vernon Matters Monday, June 26.

“Everything else of the original design is the same, so we have the apple blossoms, we have the sunset over Kalamlaka Lake and then right now we’re painting a bunch of sage bush over here in the same sort of sunsetty glow colours,” Lacey Jane-Wilburn, the other artist involved, added.

Mural artists Layla Folkmann and Lacey Jane-Wilburn preparing to paint the sage bushes on the mural. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

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Layla Folkmann and Lacey Jane-Wilburn working on the sage bush portion of the mural that includes a coyote, a sunset over Kalamalka Lake and apple blossoms. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

The previously planned fox has been swapped for a coyote on the mural that also includes a sunset over Kalamalka Lake, apple blossoms and sage bushes. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

Artists Lacey Jane-Wilburn and Layla Folkmann in front of the apple blossom portion of the mural on the north side of the building that houses Service Canada. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

Folkmann stated painting of the mural began about a week ago. The pair just have to finish the sage bushes and then apply a graffiti coating, which is expected to take another three days.

The wall previously was just a solid grey colour, which the artists said they were very happy to paint over.

“It’s definitely very satisfying, we have a bit of an allergy to beige and grey walls, which much of our cities seem to have, so it’s nice colouring them,” Jane-Wilburn told Vernon Matters.

Folkmann said the pair were commissioned by the business owner to come up with a mural that “would be quintessentially Vernon.”

“The kind of warm, orangy sunset colour palate really stuck out for us because Vernon seems to have really great skies and clouds all the time and we just thought of the nice warm glow of the Okanagan,” Folkmann explained.

“So colour palate was us. With the exception of changing the fox to a coyote, everything else was sort of our interpretation of the area and then using some of our signature stylized moves, so lots of colour shifts, lots of lines throughout our work, so a blend of design meets realism.”

Folkmann and Jane-Wilburn were also the artists behind the heron mural at the Roster’s Sports Club Bar and Grill last summer.