Tails From The Harbor

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The Public Art of Skip Dyrda

Tails From The Harbor

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish.

   This mural along Punta Gorda’s Harborwalk was one of the most unusual and physically demanding projects I’ve taken on. Painted beneath a bridge where the Peace River meets Charlotte Harbor, the surface included a three‑foot vertical wall and a ten‑foot stretch of cement rising at a steep angle to the underside of the bridge—nearly eighty feet in length. I transformed the entire incline into the illusion of massive, weathered timbers, with several seven‑foot round portholes inset into the “wood.” Each porthole reveals a different species of fish native to Charlotte Harbor. Along the lower wall, I added rectangular portholes and even painted a section of the sidewalk to look like steps leading down to the water. The entire piece was created with high‑quality artist acrylics applied directly to the cement.

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A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish. Before photo

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This little girl look slike she’s attempted to point out something in  the huge scrapbook. Everything is hand painted. 

This is the east end of the area I would have to paint, and a portion of the area under the bridge. 

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish. Before photo

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This is the west end of the area I would have to paint, and the most difficult to deal with, considering the angle of that ramp.

I took this photo one night when we attended a concert at the venue next door. It looks really cool with those blue lights. The mural wasn’t even close to being finished yet. And a few years after it was finish, a hurricane damaged a long section of the Harborwalk and it’s partially closed at the time I’m writing this. The mural had minimal damage. 

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish.

As I was working on the main mural, thousands of people would walk by every week. I got to meet a lot of very nice people. During that time, I had the idea of painting a portion of the sidewalk. This wasn’t anything I was contracted to do and I was under no obligation. I just wanted to do it. I had to receive permission from city council and they agreed. It looks like you can walk down steps to the water. 

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish.

This is one of the round portholes I painted. Each porthole showcases a specific species of fish found in Charlotte Harbor. This one shows Cobra, Manatee and the Smalltooth Sawfish. 

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish.

Another porthole. This was one of the last I painted and it showcases the Snook. I local homeless asked me endlessly when I was going to add Snook to the mural, and I finale did it. He was happy. 

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish.

This porthole showcases the Redfish. The label hasn’t been painted yet in this photo. 

This little girl look slike she’s attempted to point out something in  the huge scrapbook. Everything is hand painted. 

Here I am painting that West end cap. This part wasn’t too hard but painting most of the inside of the porthole had me constructing the weirdest contraption just so I could reach where I needed to paint. 

A photo of a potion of a mural I painted under a bridge in Punta Gorda, FL that depicts a series of portholes set into what appears to be old wood. Through each porthole can be seen different species of fish.

The mural wasn’t all fish. This porthole showcased sea turtles and specifically, a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle named Squirt 2. Squirt 2 was rescued, by Mote Marine ,in the waters very close to where I painted the mural. He resides permanently at Mote Marine due to injuries he sustained. 
Next to Suirt 2 you see a white egret, common in the area. And up above, you can barely see a squirrel. I forget his name, but the ladies next door at Hurricane Charlies would feed him and sometimes he would come running across the top of my mural and stop to see if I had a snack for him. 

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