TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Artist Paints "Last Supper" For Local Church

ADVERTISEMENT

Paul Catala

Published: September 20, 2008

PLANT CITY It wasn't an original idea, but the divine inspiration, motivation and individual touch were as unique as when Da Vinci's hand first brought the scene to life.

What was once a barren, cream-colored wall is now an elaborate backdrop for one of history's most revered paintings: "The Last Supper," bringing to theological life part of the Cork United Methodist Church near Plant City.

A mural depicting Leonardo Da Vinci's revered painting was unveiled at a Sept. 7 ceremony in the Plant City area church's welcome center.

At the mural's unveiling, church parishioners gathered with the Lakeland-based artist, Robert Blair.
Ironically, Blair, who works as a landscape architect, said he had pretty much given up painting for the past 20 years, but something "spiritual" got him to break out his brushes and begin again. He said it took him more than 2,000 research hours and 500,000 brush strokes to get the painting completed – a task that turned out to be more than he expected.

"I thought it would be a little easier than this. Painting a lot of it was a new learning experience. There were mistakes along the way. I got help from God along the way. It's the only way I could be real about it," he said.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT