The Journey of the
"Chemainus - Emily Carr Outdoor Art Gallery"

Under the Distinguished Patronage of
The Honourable Steven L. Point
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

The artist Steffan Junemann along with
Molly Newman (as Emily Carr) and
Dr. Karl Schutz during the installation of
the world's first Emily Carr outdoor art gallery at
the Trompe L'oeil Mural "Emily's Beloved Trees".

The idea goes back to February 21, 1997 when Dr. Karl Schutz met Valerie Pusey, who owned an art gallery in Victoria, which sold the art of Emily Carr. At that time, the germ of an idea to expand the mural theme to include a famous artist, like Emily Carr, was planted. It was not until he was introduced to the ‘Group of Seven Murals’ in Huntsville, Ontario, on December 15, 2006, that the idea of the Emily Carr mural theme slowly came to life.

After re-joining the Festival of Murals (FOM) in early 2007, Karl made it his goal to expand the theme of the Murals. Karl first introduced the theme for either E.J. Hughes or Emily Carr to the FOM in July 2007. No action was taken at that time. Then kismet stepped in! On Sunday October 21, 2007, Karl and his wife, Betty, went on a fateful mystery bus tour which included Emily Carr House, where he met Jan Ross. When he shared his vision about Emily Carr murals with Jan, who supported the idea with great enthusiasm, he knew the project was guaranteed to be a success.

Chemainus Emily Carr Series # 1


Our Trompe L'oeil Mural named "Emily's Beloved Trees".

The Artist
Painted By The Master Artist; Steffan Jünemann

The latest - Emily Carr Trompe L'oeil mural.
Emily Carr Series: Number 1
'Emily Carr's Beloved Trees'
Chemainus, BC. Canada.
Size 18.6m x 6.7m (57' x 22')
Photo by: Neil Newton.
The paint being used on the Chemainus "Emily Carr Trompe L'oeil mural" is "Nova Color".

Emily's paintings: from left to right - Sombreness Sunlit, Mountain Forest, Logger's Culls, Happiness and The Red Cedar.
After 25 years and 40 murals depicting the same mural theme, a new theme and style were long overdue. …but why Emily Carr? Emily Carr was a passionate artist. The unique and vanishing First Nations culture and the forested landscapes and rugged coastline of British Columbia were the driving themes behind her work. We are sure she would have loved the Chemainus mural project which is after all, all about art. By honoring Emily Carr as an iconic Canadian artist, we are also honoring, through her art, the art of our First Nations peoples and introducing their villages to the world. Emily Carr painted all over Vancouver Island. In 1924 - 1925 she visited the Chemainus Valley and painted “Chemainus Bay, 1924-25” which is in the collection of Calgary’s Glenbow Museum.

The Artist at work:

The concept
Dr. Karl Schutz, the originator of the Chemainus Murals introduce the Emily Carr concept to Chemainus in 1997, which was realized and excepted by the mural board very early in the year 2008. On this specific mural Steffen and Karl colaborated long distance and Karl introduced Steffen to the board and suggested this unique artist to the Festival of Murals board. Karl negotiated the contract and in fact worked hundreds of hours on completing the project including the day today assistants to the artist while he was in Chemainus.

About the Artist
Steffen Jünemann was born in Germany and has been an artist since early childhood. He was
the Director and CEO in charge of “Creative Connection” at the Civil Law
Association in Germany, and spent seven years as an illustrator and graphic
designer with the “Tools Development GMBH”. In 2007, he finally took the
quantum leap from employment and established himself as an independent,
freelance Trompe L’oeil artist working out of a very large studio in Münster,
Germany. Since 2007, Steffen has been actively engaged in painting with renowned
Trompe L’oeil artist John Pugh in the US. He has also been teaching, painting and
demonstrating Trompe L’oeil art in Germany, the US, and Dubai, where he works with a number of clients.

The Trompe L’oeil Art
Jünemann ingeniously fools the onlooker’s eye through his Trompe L’oeil art,
illustrating stairs leading into an imaginary gallery displaying Emily Carr’s framed
paintings. Left to right, the paintings are Sombreness Sunlit, Mountain Forest,
Loggers Culls, Happiness and Red Cedar. Painted on Evolon, a non-woven acrylic
microfiber, in Germany, and applied on site, this marks a first for Chemainus and
Canada for this type of process. Steffen spent more than 2000 hours painting the
Trompe L'oeil mural. He used 2.5 km of blue tape to mask for shadows and special
effects. Every leaf on the Arbutus tree is different; there are no two leaves alike.
This Trompe L’oeil mural is a must see and a true masterpiece with world wide significance.

Wall before mural.

While a new era has begun, the Chemainus historic theme will continue with more murals over the years. The parallel "Emily Carr Series" had its first mural, "Emily Carr's Beloved Trees", unveiled on October 15, 2008.

Steffen spent more than 2000 hr. painting the Trompe L'oeil mural. He used 2.5 km of blue tape to mask for shadows and special effects.
Every leaf on the arbutus tree is different, there are no two leaves the same, this mural is a must see and truly a master piece of world wide significance. In addition being a new technique, which is also another first in Canada. The artwork being painted on 'Evolon' in the studio (Germany) than glued to the wall and than finished with precision and detailed, brings with it a number of new challenges. Evolon is a revolutionary Microfilament, a new generation of non woven acrylic microfiber. While Steffen Jünemann used this product in USA, he is the first artist in Germany to pioneer this new technical wonder.

See the Next Emily Carr Mural number 2 in the series Page > 

 The inside story.
It was not until November 2007, that the FOM president, Jon Lefebure, and board, officially recognized the merit of his proposal. Karl was given the opportunity to pursue this new venture.
Karl has always been a great believer in destiny, and it was clear that until now, the time was not right for this project. Finally, in 2008, a year that saw the celebration of both the FOM’s 25th anniversary and the 150th birthday of the Province of British Columbia, the time was indeed right. Karl predicted that with the full support of the FOM board members, the project would become as important to marketing Chemainus as the Murals were in the beginning, and given the chance, over time, even more so!

On November 27, 2007 Karl received a letter from Steffen Jünemann, a German Trompe L’oeil mural artist. Steffen had heard about the FOM’S previous discussion with another Trompe L’oeil artist and suggested they meet. During their meeting, Steffen expressed a desire to paint a mural for the FOM.

It was at the January 21, 2008 FOM board meeting that the expansion of the mural theme to include the history of Vancouver Island, and the Emily Carr mural project, were born.
At their Annual General Meeting on April 22, 2008, the FOM changed its constitution to include the history of Vancouver Island and the Emily Carr mural project was on its way. 

 After negotiations with two artists, the Board was very impressed with his rendering and selected Steffen Jünemann’s proposal. The board approved the design and Jon Lefebure signed the contract with Steffen on August 1, 2008. The finished illustration arrived on August 28, 2008 and the first Emily Carr Mural was unveiled on October 15, 2008. Due to the weather and other delays, the mural wasn’t completely finished at that time. The final completion date was April 2009.