Mural work on Ephrata's Lee Theater adds character

EPHRATA - The characters on the north facing wall of the Lee Theater appear to have grown up. Where the Rugrats once tumbled out onto the parking lot, new villains and heroes mature under the direction of a local artist. Michael Bosnar, recent graduate of Ephrata High School, and co-owner of M & M Bosnar LLC, has lent his vision and steady hand to add drama to the theater.

When Bosnar was hired last summer by Lee Theater he was challenged to see how creative he could get with their proposed concept. Bosnar returned with a 5 foot sketch filled with many of the greatest figures in cinematic history. He said originally they were meant to be popping out of a movie screen with some characters interacting with the moviegoers at the base of the wall, like Daffy Duck who appears to be stealing someone's Pepsi. While it is hard to imagine running out of space on such a huge canvas, these iconic personalities seem to have grown a life of their own and now barely fit the wall.

He worked on the mural throughout last summer, and then took the school year off to finish high school. Work has resumed for the summer, and can be seen often working in the hot sun, even on Independence Day. More of his work is seen at Crossfit in Ephrata, and has several more jobs lined up.

Bosnar was born in Portland, Ore. then moved to Wenatchee before ending up in Ephrata five or six years ago. He entered the Ephrata School District in eighth grade, where he took art class with Donna Bremner, former middle school art teacher. For the first two years of high school he did not take another art class. After winning Best of Show at the Ephrata High School Fine Arts Show his sophomore year, he decided to take some classes. When approached to paint backdrops for the EHS Cabaret show and Drama Club, he started the work that got him "a lot of attention," he said. Bosnar received several art-based scholarships, including one from the Lions Club.

"My sister would read books," Bosnar said, "and I would get simple stories with lots of pictures." His mother started getting him art technique books from which he could learn, and from which he did. Thomas Kincaid is an artist he admires. "He breaks all the art rules. I wanted to paint like him," he said. "But his techniques and mediums are so many, I realized it would be very expensive. Slowly I realized I can't be him, but I can refine my own style."

Bosnar has admirers of his own, including Lynden Weimerskirch. Weimerskirch is an artist inspired by art, and has been documenting the progression of the mural since day one. "He puts the art up, I catch the visual progression," explains Weimerskirch. His office is located adjacent to the Lee Theater and so he is able to take a photo or video everyday at noon from the same place. You can see Weimerskirch's work on "The Lee Theater Mural Daily Progression Album" on Facebook.

Assisting Bosnar is co-artist Micheal McDonnell, also an EHS graduate and current student at Big Bend Community College. McDonnell was preceded by Matt Jones, who moved on to do other projects.

Bosnar's father offered him a partnership in his business, doing mural work, after securing the commission at the theater. That is when he got his contractor license and started painting murals.

Just because the art is on a wall does not make the work graffiti. The mural has been tagged several times by local gangs and it has been a lot of work to clean up such vandalism. Bosnar likes the style of some graffiti artists, but not the idea of it, he said. Plans have been made to save his finished work from graffiti by using a sealer that repels moisture, like spray cans or other paint.

Before it was, "Just a big ugly wall," joked Bosnar. Now, it is a larger-than-life work of art, in progress.