Artist Puts Finishing Touches On Nettleton Mural

NETTLETON, MISS. (WCBI) – It has taken more than two years, but a wall in Nettleton will soon feature an artistic history of the Monroe County town.

To most folks, the mural on the brick wall of the Dorothy J Lowe Memorial Library looks finished,  but to the artist, there are still a few details to work on.

Tony Bullard began the mural, showcasing the town’s history, in the summer of 2019.

“It’s a challenge because I’ve really got to stretch my imagination and I’ve got to, I don’t want to do things I normally do on a canvas, and the texture too, this brick wall has a lot of dents and stuff in it, I have to work around all them, it’s more of a challenge,” Bullard said.

The mural is three sections.  There is a street scene, inspired by an actual photo from the mid-1950s.

“I’ve talked to two or three in this shot, were small kids, talking about the town being packed, having a drawing at the theatre,” he said.

And there is a shout-out to Elvis.

“Had to have a pink Cadillac in it,” Bullard said.

There are notable people with ties to Nettleton,  the school mascot,  and a picture of President Franklin Roosevelt, whose train came through Nettleton when he visited Tupelo in 1934.  The third section features the train, which helped build Nettleton, and other towns across the region.

After two years of hard work, Bullard has only one regret.

“I’ve had so much fun out here, I wish it was one hundred feet long, I’ll put it that way. I thoroughly have enjoyed this,” Bullard said.

Bullard says the completed mural is what he had in his mind more than two years ago before he even started on the project.  He is hopeful that people will enjoy the artwork for years to come.

There will be a ribbon-cutting to officially unveil the mural sometime in October.