Eye-catching mural adds flair to Fire Ridge
Bob Garbinksy of Real Karacter Signs in Akron works on completing the finishing touches of his enormous mural at the Hilty home located beside Fire Ridge Golf Course in Millersburg.
This winter when Fire Ridge Golf Course moves beyond the fiery reds, oranges and yellows of the autumn trees that provided the course’s name, the course may be lifeless and white with snow, but one scene near the course will serve as a reminder that brighter and more colorful days will soon return.
Bob Garbinsky, owner and artist of Real Karacter Signs in Akron, was requisitioned to paint a colorful scene on the retaining wall at the home of Leon and Jan Hilty, who live just above the par-3 seventh hole on the east side of the golf course.
Garbinsky began painting in August, and little by little the huge mural began to take shape, although he said many people were questioning exactly what it was that was going to adorn the pale gray wall.
Garbinsky said he had done a painting for the Hiltys at their company 3-D Meats in Dalton and therefore had a working relationship with them coming into this major mural mission.
For Garbinsky, the challenges were many, and the magnitude of the mural was something he had never done before.
“This is the biggest mural I have ever attempted,” Garbinsky said. “I had never met them before that first painting, and somehow they tracked me down. That first one was in 2016. Out of the blue they contacted me and told me they had a job for me if I was still doing this, and I said I was interested.”
The couple met with Garbinsky earlier this summer and fleshed out some ideas as to what they wanted to see on the enormous retaining wall. They talked about several ideas. He drew up a black-and-white drawing of the concept, and they gave him the go-ahead.
The idea was to design and paint a golf scene on the wall that would tie into the golf theme of the course. Garbinsky said the wall is so long and narrow, with length-to-height dimensions of around 20-to-1, the design hit him that he would connect three different golf scenes, with silhouette trees separating the fairways, along with bunkers and a colorful sunset. In addition, he added several silhouette golfers in different positions of hitting shots.
“I didn’t vary much from the original concept, and it seemed to work out really well,” Garbinsky said. “I loved the idea of creating something fun and colorful in place of the original wall because let’s face it: Concrete isn’t a pretty color.”
He started to paint in mid-August, bringing along a second artist, Dan Bieri, who helped him with some of the larger areas. They started with the background work. At one point the wall contained what appeared to be an upside-down rainbow. Once he added the green of the fairways and the sand-colored bunkers, passersby began to get a sense of where Garbinsky was heading. When the silhouette golfers and trees were added, it made the whole scene pop, exactly the way Garbinsky had envisioned it.
With the wall now complete, the scene brings a whole new vision to that part of the course.
“You get to this tee box and can’t help but look over here and notice all of the color,” Garbinsky said. “It’s been a real challenge because of the sheer size of the wall, as well as with how long it is. I am really excited about the way it turned out, and I hope those who pass by on the golf course enjoy it too.”
When the seasons change, winter sets in and the trees lose their leaves, the mural should bring some colorful life to the drab winter surroundings, and the mural will be noticeable from state Route 39.
“Golf courses have all kinds of scenery and appeal to them, but I don’t think many have anything like this bordering their course,” Garbinsky said.
It truly is a one-of-a-kind mural that brought a drab concrete wall to life.