NEW PHILADELPHIA — Tropical flowers are blooming downtown as part of a collaboration between Dover artist Jon Stucky and the artists of Starlight Enterprises, Inc.

Orchids, hibiscus, birds of paradise and crocosmia adorn the south wall of a garage in the 100 block of First Drive SW, behind Mustards @ The Wine Rack at 150 S. Broadway. The business is owned by Rachel and Tony Montero, who gave permission for the garage to be used.

Stucky first met with the artists in January.

"We looked at the alley and it was kind of dreary," he said. "And we were thinking, what can we add to this that'll, year 'round, brighten it up? We started with tropical flowers. That's when they all started the sketches of tropical flowers."

The drawings were enlarged and painted on three canvasses, each 30 inches by 40 inches.

"I do the composition of their drawings to make this mural," Stucky said.

Stucky transferred the images of the blooms to the garage wall. Still to be added are the same angels that appear in another piece of public art Stucky and the Starlight artists created on Ashwood Lane.

This is Stucky's ninth mural with the Starlight artists.

"They're my favorite collaborators," he said. 

The Starlight artists' work is more prominent in the current project than in other pieces  they've done with Stucky. They usually add pattern detail to larger wall art designed and executed by Stucky. Their work can be seen at Alley Cats Marketplace and the Starburst mural on the same garage now being decorated in vibrant hues.

The unnamed work in progress is rendered in acrylic polymer paint with an expected life of 30 years, according to Stucky.

The project is funded by a $15,000 grant from the Ohio Arts Council.

Funding includes support for the three smaller paintings, each 30 inches by 40 inches, to travel to various locations throughout the county. They feature the same tropical flowers as the mural. They will first be displayed at the Tuscarawas County Office Building, also called the Courthouse annex. 

The grant application was written by Stucky and Jeannine Kennedy, executive director of the Tuscarawas County Center for the Arts

Terms of the grant call for the tropical flower mural to be finished by June 30. Stucky started work on the wall in early May.

He said the funding will also allow for the artists to put another mural on the east-facing wall of the garage.

In addition to paying the artists, the grant provided money to buy supplies and materials for Starlight's art program, which includes a store and studio at New Towne Mall, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said she was grateful to the Ohio Arts Council for supporting the project and the people who are working on it.

Starlight artists assisting Stucky are Rodney Fuller, Mecca Moulton, Wendy Garver, Stacy Urban, Christie Gardner, Katie Burroway, Terry McNutt and Rick Toole. They were guided by Carrie Herbert and Kelly McMullen, who lead Starlight's creative arts department.

"It is a pleasure for the individual artists, and what an uptick to our community with the vibrancy art brings," said Cassie Elvin, Starlight CEO.

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Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.