ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

It’s the seventh panel that has been stolen since the Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition hosted Paintstock on August 18. The community event brought together more than 20 local artists and the public to paint murals that would cover the construction fence on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street, where The Flycatcher used to be.

Of the stolen panels, the coalition has been able to find two. A friend of coalition members saw the panels in someone’s yard and told the coalition where they were, said Dee Dee Koenen, one of the board members. Some of the members went to the home and asked the resident to return the panels.

The first three panels were taken in early September, and the artists have repainted them, Koenen said. The coalition is in talks with the construction company and with the artists of the other two stolen murals as they consider printing panels with artwork instead of repainting them, she said.

Ellis said she is not sure if she will repaint a panel for the construction site. She would love to continue to help the community, but she doesn’t know whether she can agree to create something that can be so easily taken, she said.

“I’m really at a loss for words or reason as to why somebody would just take it,� Ellis said. “It wasn’t theirs to take. It was for everyone to enjoy.�

The artists and coalition members understood there was a risk with painting murals on panels instead of on a more permanent and secure wall, Ellis and Koenen said.

Once she was at the event and saw how much love and support the community had for the artists, Ellis said the thought that her artwork could be stolen was washed away.

“I just hope that everybody knows that taking these things and seeing the gaps in the fences is like a hole in all of our hearts and I think it’s like a hole in the community,� Ellis said.

The coalition is asking anyone who sees or has the panels to return them to Pop Cycle, no questions asked, Koenen said.

“We see people all day long interacting with them, taking photos with them,� she said. “I think it’s just important to our Fourth Avenue community to have them.�