This Dunedin artist paints oranges all over town — more than 1,000 so far

DUNEDIN — On a sunny April morning at Josiah Cephas Weaver Park under a red tent, Steven Spathelf stepped back from his mural and considered where he would paint the Dunedin Causeway.

He’s been working on this mural that details Dunedin’s history for several years. It’s also the site of his thousandth painting of oranges.

Spathelf made a living painting murals inside people’s homes, but somewhere along the way he noticed a lack of outside art in his famously “artsy-fartsy” town of Dunedin, so in 2009 he decided to do something about it.

Drawing from Dunedin’s rich citrus industry history and a love of old citrus crate labels, he set out to paint the fruit that would become ubiquitous around town.

One night, he and his friend Marcia Goins headed out late, and under the cover of darkness painted oranges on downtown buildings — without anyone’s permission.

At one point, a police officer drove by but just kept going, said Spathelf. The artist was relieved. After all, what they were doing was illegal.

The reaction of folks in the city to the oranges was unexpected. The Chamber of Commerce put up a sign in their window that read, “Please put an orange here.” Today, an orange is part of the official logo on the sign at the Visitor Center.

By 2011, more than 100 murals of oranges adorned Dunedin businesses and residences. Spathelf also paints images of vintage crate labels, just like the ones that held citrus grown in Dunedin back in the day. As of now, the artist has painted more than 1,000 oranges.

Vinnie Luisi, executive director of the Dunedin History Museum, credits Spathelf’s paintings with resurfacing the orange as a symbol for the city.

“It was all because of Steve’s interest in the citrus history in the community,” he said.

The paintings were such a phenomenon that Spathelf and Luisi formed a committee and revived the long-dormant Dunedin Orange Festival. Now in its 11th year, the festival happens on July 8 at Pioneer Park for the final time.

Spathelf said he never dreamed he’d be making a living painting oranges. He said today, many of the commissions come from residents new to Dunedin, who want them painted on their houses. He’s painted oranges in surrounding cities like Clearwater and Palm Harbor and as far north as upstate New York and as far south as Cuba.

A trained fine artist who has a mastery of techniques including tromp l’oeil, Spathelf is “the real deal,” said art consultant and longtime Dunedin resident Elizabeth Brincklow. She and her husband, Zeke Durica, have an orange on their house and one on their golf cart.

Spathelf’s painting “Orange Blossom” fittingly hangs in the Orange Blossom Room at the new Dunedin City Hall.

Orange groves once thrived in Dunedin, and the fruit was processed at the H.P. Hood Inc. plant, which opened in the 1940s. But over time, many groves were paved over, and in 1964, a freeze wiped out the remaining ones. The plant was sold to Coca-Cola Foods in 1988, but there are plans to close it, leaving Dunedin orangeless, except for the painted ones.

“I kind of replaced them,” Spathelf said.

With the mural at Weaver Park — which was a private commission but is visible to the public — Spathelf stretched his subject matter, painting a series of panels cribbed from vintage photographs and crate labels sourced from the Dunedin History Museum, where he volunteers. It features several depictions of the Hood plant and the history of the citrus industry.

He decided to include Dunedin Causeway at the suggestion of an acquaintance, just a few weeks before he started painting it. He went up in his friend Durica’s plane — a Mooney M20 J — and snapped an aerial photo of the causeway. He printed it out and made a grid on the photo to guide him when he painted.

Spathelf is still working on the mural, with just a little bit left to do on the causeway and another small section. When he’s finished, a bronze plaque sporting his image will be installed on the section with the oranges.

What’s next for him?

“There’s always oranges to paint,” he said.

Where to see Steven Spathelf’s mural and more

Josiah Cephas Weaver Park is just north of downtown, nestled between the Pinellas Trail and St. Joseph Sound, at 1258 Bayshore Blvd. The Dunedin Orange Festival is free to attend and happens on Saturday, July 8, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 420 Main St. dunedinorangefestival.com. For more information about Spathelf, visit spatssplats.com.