MythTickle creator Justin Thompson has posted a two part report on his December trip to Havana Cuba to paint a mural of Snoopy and Woodstock at the invitation of the community. The trip was funded by Jeanie Schulz and the mural represents the first for a US citizen.
A little shy of two years ago, I first went to Havana Cuba with a group of American cartoonists on an arts and cultural exchange tour. Our group was put together then by Jeanne Schulz, widow of the greatest American cartoonist of all time: Charles M. Schulz. Among the wonderful places and people we encountered at that time was a poor art community named Muraleando, in a poorer area of the inner city of Havana. Noting all of the many murals we saw all over the community, several by guest artists from around the world, it was embarrassing to see that there was nothing from the United States. Not one U.S. artist to be seen. I turned to Jeannie and mentioned this and said, ?Wouldn?t it be a kick if the first American mural ever to be here was of Snoopy??
She liked the idea, and after about a year of reminders and gentle badgering from myself we finally got the OK to do it. I was to join a group and go there and spend the week in Muraleando, painting a Snoopy mural expressing our friendship and respect for the people of this incredible artistic community.
These are my journal entries of that week.
Very cool indeed! Bravo!
Thanks. I’m posting part three in about an hour so stay tuned. It was quite a ride! 🙂
OK, part 3 of the Cuba Journal has just been posted.