SANDRA LESTER: A Miracle Mural in MidCity
Sandra Lester is known for her colorful art style, evocative of Vincent Van Gogh’s mastery of color and movement. Her art usually graces 11”x14” canvases, but now, her artwork has taken on massive proportions.
Lester has been an artist since she was a small child growing up in the Brooklyn and Bronx boroughs of New York City. She’s carried that love with her throughout her life – in her art history studies in college, in her teaching career, and now in her life in North Alabama.
She has been a North Alabama resident since 2016, and it was here that she experienced a creative resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 that has led to her continued artistic presence and productivity today.
Music and the Rocket City are her main muses and are themes she carries throughout her paintings. Permanent ink is her preferred medium nowadays due to a hand injury, and semi-abstract is her style of choice.
“I like semi-abstract art because I’m taking the ideas that I’m interested in and then I’m putting them in a totally new and creative art composition,” said Lester.
Her works are also deliberately and distinctly colorful.
“I enjoy colors. When people come through the Lowe Mill art gallery and see my art, they’ll say, ‘Wow! It’s just full of color.’ And I enjoy that because I want people to know that color is something that we have all around us, and it’s something that mostly can brighten our lives and give our lives color,” she explained.
She primarily shares her artwork through the Huntsville Art League at Lowe Mill but also through the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Her artwork was recently chosen by the bureau for postcards bureau staff hand out at national and regional tourism conferences, and another piece of her work was selected for the bureau’s annual holiday card, conveying a theme of joy. Through these projects, Lester and her art are ambassadors for the Rocket City and are reaching different corners of the country and even the world.
Lester’s biggest, literally, achievement in recent years, however, is a mural. Lester’s ‘Jazzy’ was selected by Neil Kapadia, co-founder of developer, ViaNova, to grace the outside of the new Hotel Indigo in Huntsville’s MidCity District.
Kapadia saw and purchased Lester’s ‘Jazzy’ about 2 years ago.
“He just happened upon that one and liked it at Lowe Mill, and that’s how he called me and asked me about it,” Lester recounted. “[He] has also indicated that once they have everything finished in the hotel in the inside then he also wanted a display of my art in there.”
‘Jazzy’ is done in Lester’s signature style with her favorite medium: permanent inks. It stuns in vivid shades of blues, reds, pinks, purples, and yellows. ‘Jazzy’ blends different musical symbols, including a guitar, piano, notes, and treble clef, into an abstract, visual symphony. Fittingly, the mural is situated on a wall facing the Orion Amphitheater, greeting concertgoers and fellow music lovers.
The painting originated as an 11”x14” piece. It is being adapted for an exterior wall using the vector process that harnesses cutting-edge technology to transfer art digitally to a larger format. The special process prevents distorting colors and shapes and preserves the integrity of the art, meaning Lester’s ‘Jazzy’ will be just as vivid and stunning on a wall as it is on a canvas.
As Lester approaches 80 years old in 2027 and after beating breast cancer earlier this year, she describes her recent achievements, especially the MidCity mural, as “a miracle.”
“To me it’s like a miracle. I’m very thankful and blessed,” she said.
In her spare time outside of the art studio, Lester can be found using her gifts to give back to the community, serving at Oakwood University Church’s food distribution program, Heaven’s Storehouse, and clothing distribution program, Tabitha’s corner.
Lester hopes her story and work serve as inspiration and reminders to use the talents each of us have been blessed with.
“I want to ensure that I am emphasizing encouraging people when they have any type of talent that they should use it and just because you get a little older, it doesn’t matter. If you’re able to use it and enjoy it that you should continue doing that,” Lester encouraged.
