Healing Strides Receives Gift of Giant Mural By Renowned Artist

The massive mural by Artist Edna Searles measures 16' X 60'.
The massive mural by Artist Edna Searles measures 16′ X 60′.

Healing Strides of VA, a Roanoke Valley Therapeutic Riding Program that was established in 1991, has announced the unveiling of a beautiful piece of artwork by Edna Searles of Clarksburg, MD.  One of the largest murals in both Franklin County and Roanoke it is made up of  twenty-seven panels that create a 16 foot by 60 foot mural depicting Healing Strides and the surrounding landscape.

Artist Edna Searles is a prolific artist who illustrates poetry books, paints murals and portraits and also composes musical scores. The recipient of an International Gold Medal from the Accadamie d’ Arte in Rome, Searles’ lengthy resume includes domestic as well as international honors. Her work has been featured in numerous one-person exhibits, including one at the Strathmore Center for the Arts. Searles says she works in cycles; whatever strikes her fancy at the moment. She is relentlessly (and joyfully) compelled to create.

Searles says of her work: “Some people say you’ll never get anywhere doing different things all the time. I feel the opposite is true. My art is all what God puts in my head at the time. If it makes people happy, then I’m happy . . .  When I paint, someone once said, ‘Edna, you put the most energy into your paintings. Your easel dances around the floor.’ Up until then I had been unaware of how I actually move the canvas with my brush. Your eyes see, your heart feels and it comes out your hands onto the canvas. This is a very true thing about art. “

Searles said she has been, “creating this mural for 50 years . . .”, but she has actually been physically working on the 16′ X 60′ mural for close to a year, working from 100’s of photos of the facility and the surrounding area.

Edna Searles’ paintings can be viewed online at www.ednasearles.com.

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