Tribute to sculptor displayed among other murals in Watertown's riverwalk park

Oct. 10—WATERTOWN — For more than 20 years, William L. Salisbury's legendary metal creation of "Three Crows" has welcomed visitors on their way to Alexandria Bay and the St. Lawrence River.

Now a variation of his crows is greeting park-goers of Veterans Memorial Riverwalk and the Black River in Watertown.

A tribute to the north country's most well-known sculptor, an 8-by-8-foot mural featuring the three crows was unveiled at the city-owned park during Saturday's inaugural Local Arts Fall Festival, sponsored by the Watertown Downtown Business Association.

The collage showing scenes of Mr. Salisbury's life was a collaborative effort by local artists who were his friends and wanted to show their love for the sculptor who died in August at the age of 72.

Four artists — Kenny Knapp, Greg Lago, Kristy (Askins) Hoover and Garrett McCarthy — directly worked on the piece, but others did their part to honor the dean of the north country arts scene.

"The way it came out, I'm really proud of it," Ms. Hoover said.

"This really represents Will."

The tribute joins other murals along the Veterans Memorial Riverwalk.

The DBA and a local arts group are focusing on the project with the goal of displaying between 20 and 25 murals in the under-used park that overlooks the Black River.

DBA president Joseph A. Wessner came up with the idea for the tribute to the north country artist and display it on the nearly 500-foot cement wall that has been target of graffiti for years.

"I love the painting," he said.

After its unveiling on Saturday, vendors and festival-goers stopped to congratulate Ms. Hoover for the piece. She described the meaning of different scenes on the mural to honor the sculptor and welder.

They started creating the piece during the Orion Art Gallery and Studio's summer arts show, just three weeks after Mr. Salisbury's death.

But Mr. Wessner asked them if they could get it done for this weekend and unveil it at the event.

Suddenly, they had a deadline.

With Mr. McCarthy already creating a sky motif at the top of the mural, the other three artists put in six to 10 grueling hours a night for the week leading up to the fall arts festival.

They gathered in Mr. Knapp's woodshed studio in Chaumont to get the mural finished for the unveiling. At one point, Ms. Hoover was lying down on the floor with her paint brush creating a part of the mural while Mr. Knapp was up on a ladder painting another.

Of course, they agreed three crows would be prominently featured in the mural. Ms. Hoover said their version of the crows is a fitting tribute to the artist and how the city tries to get rid of thousands of the pesky birds that roost in Watertown every winter. The city won't be able to haze these crows, she said.

"Will would get a kick out of the crows and the way the city chases the crows out of the city," she said with a laugh.

Gary Walts, a local award-winning wedding photographer, took a photo of "Three Crows," making sure to have the exact perspective of the giant metal sculpture on Mr. Salisbury's property that is viewed by travelers along Interstate 81.

Mr. Salisbury's other legendary sculptures also play a role on the mural.

The other scenes on the mural came organically — not planned out in advance — as the three artists continued working on their labor of love. They just talked about how each could contribute to the mural, Ms. Hoover said.

"There were no egos that could happen with some collaborative pieces," she said. "We just teamed up. We just wanted to do this for Will."

Local muralist Kelly Curry advised the group on how to create a piece that's displayed outdoors. Other artists donated supplies and helped deliver the mural to the riverwalk.

Other scenes include Mr. Salisbury driving his boat up in the sky; he and his wife Karen taking a moonlit ride along the St. Lawrence River with a shooting star in the background; his well-known "Tree of Knowledge" sculpture that was commissioned for the Hawn Library in Clayton; his cottage that sits on Grindstone Island; and his Standing Bear weather vane, installed on Comfort Island in 2016.

In another scene, his wife stands next to his niece LuAnn Genier, who's wearing her nurse scrubs. His niece was Karen Salisbury's caretaker until she died in 2020 and took care of her uncle during his illness before his death.

Mr. Knapp, Mr. Lago and his niece were unable to attend the mural's unveiling on Saturday. They were at Mr. Salisbury's property in Omar celebrating what would have been his 73rd birthday.

"She didn't know she was going to be on the mural," Ms. Hoover said. "I called her tonight to tell her."

Mr. Salisbury had much respect for the north country artistic community. He created and maintained the website, North Country Artists, she said.

"Will was immersed in the arts community," she said. "He was such a large person in the arts community. He was so very kind and so supportive of everyone. He promoted local artists and supported them."

About seven years ago, Ms. Hoover, a drawing professor at Oswego State University and one of 20 artists at the Orion studio, met her mentor and friend at a North Country Arts Council arts show when some of her sculpture won an award.

He called and they chatted about her work. They were friends ever since. They shared a vision of emotional and social commentary in their pieces, she said.

With love and respect for her friend, it was a way to give back to Mr. Salisbury, who did so much for the north country arts world for so many years, she said.