Dowdle adds his 2nd mural to downtown Laurinburg

LAURINBURG — Those entering downtown Laurinburg are now greeted by a new mural created by Max Dowdle.

Since the Market Furniture/ McDouglad Building Building collapsed during Hurricane Florence in 2018 the northern gateway into downtown Laurinburg has just seen a brick wall and a small green space. Now those coming into downtown from the north side will be greeted with a new mural that features the slogan “Laurinburg Deeply Rooted” with many tributes to the city.

“This design was something the city already had, I just tweaked it so I cannot claim credit for this design,” Dowdle said. “I had to keep it bold and impressionistic because this wall is really rough and it’s not the kind of wall that is meant to have a mural on it or even be painted at all.”

This is Dowdle’s second mural in downtown Laurinburg, the first being in McDuffie Square and depicting figures from the history of the Laurinburg Institute including founders Emmanuel and Tinny McDuffie and notable alumni Dizzie Gillespie, Charlies Scott, and Sam Jones. The first mural was also the start of his ‘Legacy NC 100 Murals in 100 Counties’ where he plans on painting a mural in all 100 North Carolina counties.

It was during that first mural that Dowdle began discussions about this second one and it was put into his schedule.

“I love Laurinburg It’s like my second home now,” Dowdle said. “I will definitely be back, it’s a lot of fun here. I think it’s such a cool downtown and I tell everyone to come to Laurinburg. It’s a very welcoming place … there’s been a lot of honking, thumbs up, or yelling great job. Or coming by and stopping to chat about the design, the progress, or murals in general.”

Dowdle is the director of NC Public Art as well as the primary muralist, according to his website. After studying a variety of media in undergraduate studies at the College of Charleston, he eventually settled on painting as his main focus. Afterward, he attended and taught in the classical vein at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy.

“We can’t be more excited and pleased about both of the murals in our downtown,” said Laurinburg City Manager Charles Nichols. “We’ve had an incredible partnership with Max Dowdle and we were excited to be the first of his 100 murals in the state and we look forward to having him back for some more projects in the future.”

Mayor Jim Willis added that he’s extremely happy with how the mural turned out and that the design was finally able to be used.

“We’ve had the design now for a while but we just couldn’t find the right artist but we found that in Max Dowdle,” Willis said. “I’m so thrilled about how it turned out and it has completely transformed that intersection. Since that’s one of our two gateways into downtown it really will have an impact for those who are traveling through.”

Willis also added there is something slightly hidden in the mural as well.

“On the right-hand corner in the field is a single cantaloupe plant,” Willis said. “The reason for that is because cantaloupe used to be a big crop here in Scotland County. I’m not sure who exactly told him about that but I thought that was a nice little touch to it.”

To follow Max Dowdle’s progress and learn more about the mural project, visit ncpublicart.com.