Teen artist paints triptych mural on Commerce Avenue business

FRONT ROYAL –Thanks to a talented Warren County High School graduate, a larger-than-life triptych mural now graces the front of the Fussell Florist Shop at the corner of Commerce Avenue and Second Street.  Shop owner Betty Showers said she is “delighted” with the work of Jacqui Ris, 18, who is headed to Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall.

Ris puts some finishing touches on a panel of the mural she designed and painted.

Over the course of about 10 hours, spread over the weekend and Monday morning, Ms. Ris, 18, worked feom sketches she had provided to Ms. Showers after the latter contacted Warren County and Skyline high schools searching for an artist to paint a mural on her building, which had just undergone some improvements. It took about three months to work the design out, and decide on the vibrant, fun colors for three panels.

Showers said she and Ris worked on a design over the course of about three months, and said on Monday, as the project was near completion. She was especially pleased with the way the young artist hid a bulky exhaust fan by incorporating it into the overall design. “I couldn’t be happier! It’s fabulous! She has done exquisite work!” Showers exclaimed.

In addition to an internship with Mirandum Pictures, a Front Royal-based film production company, which she completed during her junior and senior years, Ris decided to add some mural painting to her resume before she heads off to VCU to study cinematography. She also has a Facebook page where clients can reach her, Verve spraypaint and fine art .

Ris, the daughter of Nancy and Allen Ris, of Front Royal, says her parents have always been supportive and nurturing of her artistic bent. Her father has a background as a graphic artist and photographer, and the proverbial apple apparently doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Her older sister, Zoe, is also an artist; she will be a junior this fall at James Madison University, majoring in art education. In addition to various art classes in school, Ris attended the Summer Residential Governor’s School at Radford last summer, where she studied under professors who taught a several mediums including photography and metalworking.

Based upon her work at Shower’s shop, it’s a safe bet we’ll be seeing more of this talented young lady’s work on a nearby building soon.

Flowers will bloom, even in the dead of winter, thanks to the mural painted by local artist Jacqui Ris.