New Sage Health Mural Beautifies Downtown Overton

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The work of a local artist has been put to use in beautifying a downtown Overton building. Overton artist Joan Rainey-Day was commissioned to paint a vibrant mural on the north side of the Sage Health and Empowerment Center building at 201 S. Moapa Valley Blvd.

The mural depicts a colorful set of angel’s wings, painted at just the right height on the building for people to stand and be photographed as if wearing the wings. And there have already been a lot of interest in that spot.

“Even before Joan was finished with it, we had people stopping by for photos,” said Sage Health and Empowerment owner Deborah Henrie. “It has certainly attracted attention.”

Henrie said that she had noticed murals depicting angels’ wings seemed to have become something of a trend across the country. She thought it would be good subject matter for a mural on her building.
“The idea was attractive to me, maybe because it feels kind of uplifting,” Henrie said. “I felt like, with all that we have been going through in the world nowadays, we might be needing something a little more positive. After all, the slogan for our business is ‘Elevate your Life.’ So it just seemed to fit.”

Henrie said that she went to Joan Day for the mural because she was familiar with her prior work. Day is not new to painting murals. She painted a sports-themed mural on the old Sugar’s Homeplate restaurant, though that has since been removed. She also painted beautiful landscape murals on the Muddy River Grill building in Moapa and on the Golden West Restaurant in Mesquite.

In addition to knowing her artwork, Henrie also knew Day as a regular customer of the store.
“All during the pandemic I decided I needed to find things to uplift my immune system and to ward off illness however I can,” Day said. “Sage Health has been very helpful to me in doing that. And so far it has been effective.”

After receiving the commission for the mural, Day started to do some research on what the art would look like. She chose bright colors that would reflect health and nature. The wings begin with greens which symbolize the earth; continue with blues indicating river, sky and air; and are topped off with oranges and yellows reflecting the sun.

Day also researched various symbols and icons representing different aspects of healthy living. “I wanted to include healthy symbols of grass, water and sky to focus on our earth and the good health it provides us,” Day said.

Once she had the concept worked out, the actual painting took about two weeks to complete. It was challenging at times due to the windy weather that prevailed in Moapa Valley last month. So there were delays.
“A lot of the time it took was because I had to wait for the weather to settle down,” Day said. “But I found that the early mornings were calmest. And the downtown area was more quiet and peaceful as well.”

Henrie said that she was over joyed with the results. “I just love it!” she said. “It has exceeded my expectations. It has made such an impression on the community. I hear positive things about it everywhere I go. And I feel like anything that brings people together in a positive way is good.”

Day was also pleased with the way her latest mural turned out. She said that each little beautification to the downtown area makes a noticeable difference to the whole.
“It seems like the whole town is sprucing up just a little at a time,” she said. “And each time some little thing is done to improve things, it encourages others to do something similar. I feel like it is a great trend for our community.”