NORFOLK, Va. — Step into Terry Wylie's studio and see the Mermaid City through his eyes. Life in Norfolk serves as the inspiration for a lot of the local painter’s works, and in Norfolk it doesn't get any bigger than Harborfest.
The country's largest, longest-running free maritime festival kicked off for its 49th year on Friday — with a special painted poster once again commemorating the occasion.
This year Wylie, a resident artist at Norfolk's D'Art Center on Boush Street, was chosen to paint it.
“They saw my work, they liked it and they asked if I wanted to do it this year and I was really honored to get asked," he told News 3 from inside his studio.
For this U.S. Navy veteran, creating is something that he's always done — through a childhood in San Antonio, Tex. through long marriage to his wife Jenifer and through a 30-year military career.
“Art to me is just like breathing. I don’t think it’s something I could stop, even if I wanted to," he said. “(It's a) creative process that gives me a little bit of a journal of everywhere I’ve gone in the world and everything I’ve done in the world.”
But for the last 35 years, Norfolk has been home and when the city's largest festival reached out and asked him to create poster, Wylie got to work.
He turned in different drawings, of which Harborfest organizers picked their favorite — an image of last year's festival during the event's iconic Parade of Sail.
Wylie says he then hand-drew the image and then painted over it with watercolor.
“There's probably about 20 hours worth of work in it," he told News 3 of the final work that was released last month. “Several people have contacted me and said, oh, that’s my boat, or I know that person.”
Wylie says he's excited to share the work in person at his booth at this year's Harborfest. There, visitors can also look through and purchase his other paintings.
He says he's hoping his art speaks to the people walking by and maybe, they'll want to take it home.
"Having something physical that you can connect with is truly special. I think people are starting to value that more and more," said Wylie.
The poster is available for purchase at Harborfest for $35, with a signed version from Wylie available for $40.
