Splashes of Hope to host mural-painting event in Huntington

Trina Thomas is not an artist. And yet, hanging outside the MRI department of Huntington Hospital is a painting she and her daughter helped create.

“I pass it every single morning,” said Thomas, the hospital’s director of imaging services. “We get so many comments on it from patients who are waiting.”

Thomas, 40, of Freeport, worked on the painting last year at an event put on by Splashes of Hope, a Huntington-based nonprofit. The group creates works of art to make hospitals and social service facilities — places where people might enter feeling stressed — appear more welcoming and cheerful.

Now, the nonprofit is inviting the public to join its latest effort on Sept. 7 to create two new murals at an event the organization is calling “Painting for a Purpose.”

Not to worry if you can’t draw so much as a stick figure. Founder Heather Buggee said the organization’s artists will create the basic outlines of the murals. The artwork will be set up on the lawn at Coindre Hall in Huntington, where the organization has its headquarters, and the group’s artists will guide participants in filling in the painting, said Buggee, 54, of Huntington.

Participants will get a mini-art lesson of sorts, she said, explaining that the professionals will advise them on color choices and which brushes to use for specific techniques.

One mural will highlight locations such as the Huntington Harbor Lighthouse, Heckscher Park and Coindre Hall. It will hang in the headquarters of the Family Service League, which helps homeless people and others in crisis get back on their feet, said Buggee.

Women who have served in the military will be the focus of a mural for the Northport VA Medical Center, said Buggee.

Many of the organization’s murals feature the exterior of Coindre Hall, which overlooks Huntington Harbor. “We want to highlight the magnificence of the building. It’s such a wonderful space. It’s a hidden gem,” said Buggee, noting volunteers will lead tours of the historic mansion during the event.

Once participants are finished painting, the murals will go back to the Splashes studio for final detailing, said Buggee. “It takes about two months to finish and install,” she said.

About 100 people attended the event last year, recalled Buggee. “Some people were intimidated at first, but once they get going, you can’t stop them,” she said. “They just want to keep painting.”

IF YOU GO

Splashes of Hope’s “Painting for a Purpose” event is noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 7 at Coindre Hall, 101 Browns Rd. in Huntington. Registration is not required. For more information, call 631-424-8230 or visit splashesofhope.org.