Local muralist discovers new canvas after injury

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March 11, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Mar 11, 2010, 09:39 PM CST

By Andra Bryan Stefanoni

news@joplinglobe.com

ARMA, Kan. — Gary Lofts says he and a 10-foot ladder had different ideas about the direction he should take as he painted a mural high on a wall at the former Coconuts Tropical Grill in Joplin, Mo., last October.

“The ladder went one way and I went the other — through eight feet of air and then onto a concrete floor,” recalled Lofts.

The Southeast Kansas man has been painting professionally for 25 years, starting his career as a sign painter in the Four-State Area. He also has worked as a designer of logos and trademarks for many businesses in the Midwest.

In recent years, Lofts has become well-known for his large murals around the region. They can be found at Cafe Del Rio locations in Joplin and Pittsburg; at Immigrant Park and Wheat State Pizza, both in Pittsburg; at Centennial Memorial Park in Arma; and at Friend Tire in Monett, Mo.

That disagreement with the ladder shattered Lofts’ pelvis, which meant seven weeks flat on his back and eight more weeks of physical therapy, temporarily halting both his mural career and his job as an art instructor at Northeast High School in Arma.

The confinement wasn’t easy for a guy who describes his usual routine as one “of going 200 miles an hour with my hair on fire.”

Lofts said the hospital stay inspired him to do something for those who must look at the same walls for many days on end.

So as soon as he was able, he picked up his paintbrushes and attacked the walls at Girard Medical Center. He created 14 murals, completing the last of them about a week ago.

“I created it with patience and understanding for all those who require services of the facility,” he said. “My goal is to create an illusion that people can enjoy by actually finishing the painting in their mind’s eye. In other words, they become part of the painting based on their experiences and imagination.”

Beth Simpson, program director at the hospital, said patients and families have been pleased with the Kansas scenes.

“We wanted to provide artwork that might remind the patients (ages 55 and older) of scenes that they might expect to see in rural Southeast Kansas, including farms, streams and wildlife,” Simpson said.

“I only hope that in some way my work helps bring comfort to all those who view it,” Lofts said.

Lofts, of Arma, said his wife of 36 years, Susan, supported him after the injury. She previously nursed him through recovery from open-heart surgery, and she supported him through late-night sacrifices of putting finishing touches on projects for many years.

“She is definitely my rock,” Lofts said. “We have always supported each other.” He added that cards, phone calls, e-mail, food and other offers from friends, students, co-workers and medical specialists also saw him through the trying time.

He said he has sworn off ladders, step stools and scaffolding for now, but he’ll keep painting murals — albeit it for four to five hours at a time now rather than 10 to 12 hours as he has done in the past.

He returned to teaching the first of December with crutches, a wheelchair and daily physical therapy.

“We all have tragedies of one kind or another in or lives, but people deal with it differently,” he said. “At the end of the day, you have to convince yourself to help yourself. If you do nothing to overcome your weaknesses, the results will be just that: nothing.”

‘Great service’

“My hope is that we can convince other nursing homes and other such places to do (murals), because it’s a great service for those people.”

— Artist Gary Lofts