David Carmack Lewis

Over the Valley

"The river appears as though the viewer is standing above and looking down on it—through a window, perhaps—which creates an almost illusory experience when gazing up at the 11-story mural from the ground level. It is a painting that insists on a second look; viewers must orient themselves to the world in the painting and then reorient to the world around them, suddenly altered. This is what art does: restructures quotidian rhythms to create music where once was just traffic, automatic doors swishing open, the sides of buildings." -Boise Weekly

The Big Backyard

Boise is surrounded by some of the wildest and most scenic land in the country. Those who live there make the most of it too, but you can’t really see all of that from downtown. The mural activates an otherwise blank and featureless wall and invites residents to metaphorically sit back and enjoy the view.

Absence and Presence

The mural depicts two historic homes which once occupied the building site. The homes were moved to new locations within the city and restored. By painting the sky and allowing the base gray color of the stucco wall to act as a silhouette, the houses become ghostlike, suggesting both their absence as well as their continued presence in the life and history of the city.

Around the Corner

Two adjacent scenes wrap around the corner of the Ocala County Visitors Bureau depicting two very different local environments that often exist within close proximity of each other and are both “just around the corner” for residents of Ocala: dry pine and oak fields on one side and lush spring-fed riparian forest on the other.

The Conversation

A drama unfolds in a Kentucky landscape. Two chairs, one firmly on the ground, the other adrift in a starry sky, are engaged in a kind of dialogue. An imaginary constellation echoes the conversation, jumping from point to point, veering off on tangents and circling back. A Trompe L’oeil ladder leads up to the stage inviting viewers into the scene bringing their own experiences to bear on interpreting this visual metaphor.

Originally designed in late 2019, the mural depicts the Columbia Valley Interspersed with objects drifting into the air as a metaphor for change and unease in a time of climate and other crises. The imagery took on an interesting post-pandemic interpretation as daily life seemed to become surreal and unmoored. The mural sits across from a public school and the design was presented to and approved by the staff and the PTA. The design also has a secret message hidden within it for the students to discover and interpret.

Prairie Fire (detail)

Prairie fires replenished nutrients to the soil encouraging new growth.This ecological fact echoes Chicago’s history which owes so much of its identity to the reconstruction that took place after the great fire and the innovation of the steel frame skyscraper. The curtain is a nod to Chicago’s thriving and dynamic theater scene. It also helps place the wildfire in the context of a drama or metaphor. The mural is an alleyway and meant to be viewed sequentially by pedestrian residents (unfortunately this also makes it impossible to document in its entirety).

Prairie Fire

Prairie fires replenished nutrients to the soil encouraging new growth.This ecological fact echoes Chicago’s history which owes so much of its identity to the reconstruction that took place after the great fire and the innovation of the steel frame skyscraper. The curtain is a nod to Chicago’s thriving and dynamic theater scene. It also helps place the wildfire in the context of a drama or metaphor. The mural is an alleyway and meant to be viewed sequentially by pedestrian residents (unfortunately this also makes it impossible to document in its entirety - this is the original design).