Gastonia business encourages residents to dream big with new mural

A Gastonia business hired local artist Jamie Longshore to bring a little more art to the city’s streets.

According to Longshore, Carolina Renovation Warehouse owner Dustin Bealby’s only request for the mural was that it have a, “happy vibe,” and a message.

That message was, “dream big.”

Longshore was originally trained in oil painting while attending art school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

She went on to get a master’s in marketing, and art fell to the side for a few years.

During the pandemic, however, Longshore found herself with more time on her hands.

“During COVID time, I had so much free time, and I was doing art so much because I had the time to do it, and I was so much happier,” Longshore said. “I was like, if I’m gonna try to do this, now is the time.”

Finally living her own dream, Longshore quit her main job last year and has been able to work with art full time ever since.

Bealby approached her with the idea for the “dream big” mural while she was working on public art for another company.

“The city of Gastonia continues to develop, and we wanted to do our part,” Bealby said in a press release. “‘Dream Big’ is a message that no matter your age or where you are in life, is something that resonates with everyone.”

“I think it’s important especially in areas like that because it kind of brings light and positivity to the community,” Longshore said. “He said, ‘I want to make something that has no dark message or anything cryptic behind it we’re just trying to bring light and positivity to the community.”

“I knew I wanted to be part of it,” Longshore said. “There’s so much going on in the world that’s dividing us, so doing something like this where it's just something small to bring people together, I think it’s so important.”

Mural enthusiasts can see Longshore’s sunflowers reaching for their dreams on the side of Carolina Renovation Warehouse located at 1233 W. Franklin Blvd.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia business encourages residents to dream big with new mural