The man known as the driving force behind the colourful murals depicting the history of Chemainus has died.
In a post on Facebook, the Global Mural Association says Karl Schutz “peacefully drifted away” at the venerable age of 92.
The GMP posted that Schutz “will be missed, but he will not be forgotten, and we can not thank him enough to express how grateful GMA and GMC are to him.”
It went on to say, “his passion will continue to make a difference in the world, he will keep on living through us, and we will keep on painting the world to spread joy and love in his honour.”
A Chemainus resident and businessman, Schutz came up with the concept of putting the town’s history on the walls of Chemainus in the early 1980s.
The Festival of Murals Society was created to oversee and preserve the murals project.
Today, there are over 3 dozen murals painted on the walls of downtown businesses in Chemainus.
An episode of the TV program Still Standing aired earlier this year featuring Chemainus, the sawmill town that no longer had lost its mill and used the mural project to transition to a tourist destination.
Each year, the images of people and life in the early years of Chemainus attract thousands of visitors from around the world.
