The mother-daughter team of Mary Lowe and daughter Erica have painted murals across western Manitoba during the last few years, in Hamiota, Oak River, Kenton, Virden, Elkhorn, Melita, Pierson and Waskada.
The Lowes live on farms in the Kenton area.
Mary, who has a fine arts degree, paints water colours and sculpts. She belongs to an art group named Drawn Together and is expected to have a show at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba in Brandon in April. She also belongs to the Hamiota Art Club.
Erica has a creative arts degree and works with acrylics, water colour, sculpture, stop-motion animation and ink.
“The mural painting started when Erica taught a summer arts course for children in painting murals with Nova Cassan, Carberry artist at the (Brandon Youth Centre) and the (Brandon) Aboriginal Youth Activity Centre,” said Mary.
“The small murals were displayed on Victoria Avenue for a while. I ended up painting a mural of buffalo on a wall at Rideau Park Personal Care Home in Brandon,” said Erica.
Erica is teaching Grade 6 and up at the school in Reston, Man. Earlier in the school year she taught the course in Miniota, Man.
“Some of the first murals Mom and I painted were when Woodworth Municipality were looking for artists to paint all the recycling bins. They selected us for the job,” said Erica.
“The highest mural we painted was in 2017 in Hamiota where we had to borrow a telehandler to complete it. The mural is on the Heritage Arts Centre showing the main street years ago and wildlife,” said Mary.
“Many of our large murals are collaborations with boards or community groups who we work back and forth with to come up with the final design. We are currently working with Lola Thunderchild, chief of Canupawakpa, and Christa Milne, Arts Mosaic, Virden as well as the building owner to come up with an Indigenous heritage mural in Virden. We will be painting it this summer,” said Erica.
The Lowes are known as Legion of Birds and can be found on Instagram. They have even painted murals on plywood and shipped them to their destination when they can’t paint them where requested.
