The Public Art of Skip Dyrda
Ladies Remembered
This two‑wall mural in downtown Punta Gorda honors seven women whose lives shaped the city from its earliest years to modern times. Their contributions span education, business, healthcare, government, history, and social causes, each leaving a lasting mark on the community. Alongside their portraits, I included a meaningful element connected to each woman—six reproduced from original artworks and one represented by the newspaper she holds. The mural was painted with a proprietary mineral paint, with assistance from my friend and fellow artist Abby Kent.
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This is the North facing wall and showcases Lois Cole Peeples (1907-1994), Sallie Jones (1895-1960) and Bernice Andrews Russell (1923-1999)
This is the West wall and it showcases Cornelia West Ponder (1874-1934), Helen Cornish Wrobbel (1918-2014), Tosie Quednau Hindman (1923-2009) and Virginia Taylor Trabue (1834-1924)
In progress. I was originally supposed to use a hydraulic lift, but the sidewalk wasn’t level enough, so we switched to scaffolding. No big deal.
Here you can barely see my good friend, Abby Kent, in the blue shirt and straw hat, on the first level of scaffolding.