Read the original story on WMRA’s website.
Nils Westergard's multistory portraiture adorns buildings in Waynesboro and Richmond, and others as far away as Switzerland and Portugal. His latest work, finished at the end of March on Mason Street in Harrisonburg, depicts a contemplative man bathed in moonlight, chess pieces levitating from his fingertips.
The image started out as a studio painting of Westergard’s friend, Michael, who lives in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood.
“When I was living in Richmond full time, I played chess with him every week, every Wednesday night for years,” he said. “I just always wanted it to be on a wall. It's so tall and kind of grand, he's got these floating chess pieces and stuff.”
The winds at the end of March were a challenge to work through, to the point that things were “flying everywhere” and a large paint spill could be seen on the ground; one Westergard tried to clean up with a drop cloth.
Next on his docket?
He’ll headed out on some international travel, including to Amsterdam, where he’s excited about tulip season.
“See all the flowers and take my little jolly bike rides, and then in May I’m off to Basel in Switzerland, and then from there to Berlin," the artist said.
He's also finishing a book featuring 50 paintings of Amsterdammers on bikes after three years of work.