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Artist Courtney Canova has been commissioned to paint a monarch butterfly-themed mural on the eastern wall of the building at 115 E. New York Ave. in Downtown DeLand, which houses a Pizza Hut franchise and faces a city parking lot.
The mural was partially inspired by DeLand’s efforts to support the monarch-butterfly population. Last April, the city was named a Monarch City USA, becoming the first city in Florida to earn that designation.
The concept for the mural came from Ray Johnson, a retired architect and public-art advocate, while the design came from artist John Wilton.
The mural was funded through a coalition of community groups, including a $1,000 contribution from the West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority.
“We contributed to the butterfly mural just because it kind of fits in with our Wings of the West project,” said Georgia Turner, executive director of the authority.
The Wings of the West project was inspired by artist Erica Group’s DeLand Wings mural, painted on a set of doors at one of the Conrad Realty buildings, at 110 W. New York Ave.
The building houses The Beacon’s offices, and many other businesses.
Wings of the West expanded on the popular mural by placing five other sets of wings at prominent places around West Volusia.
