Muralist Works on Wall to Wall Title Panel

Herb Roe works on repainting the title panel for Paducah Wall to Wall floodwall murals. He and Robert Dafford painted this original image in 2001. 

Roe has been involved with this project since its inception in 1996, having painted a portion or all of every Dafford mural in Paducah and personally designed eight of them. "Images will last anywhere from 10 to 20 years before needing to be repainted or at least touched up. Fading and cracking happens to anything that is exposed to UV lighting, especially the hot west-facing sun each afternoon. Paducah's wall really heats up, even in the winter, and then the nights get cold. The concrete wall actually swells and shrinks and once the paint becomes brittle, it starts breaking down. The newest clear seal we've been using since 2010, inhibits UV light damage and gives the floodwall images more time before needing repair. This process is working," said Roe. 

Three murals are being repainted this summer and select ones will be candidates for the clear seal. 

"Paducah is doing a good job staying on top of maintenance," said Roe. "Looking ahead and having a plan are essential to the integrity of this popular 24/7 art and history project in Paducah. People stop and ask questions each day while we're painting. It's intriguing to learn where they are from and to hear locals share their connections to the images we paint. Hearing the stories is one of the most interesting elements of our work."