Mural: In Chase
Created: Spring 2018
Location: Scotiabank building
Address: 4602 Lakelse Avenue
Located on the east facing wall of the Scotiabank building on Kalum St. and Lakelse Avenue, this mural features a muted underwater scene of salmon and otters. This mural was painted over the winter of 2017 indoors and installed on panels in May of 2018. As a former fisheries technician, artist Casey Braam was inspired by a series of snorkel surveys, where technicians would snorkel down area rivers and streams to count fish. That was a mural that got the ball rolling. It happened with the help of the Terrace Beautification Society and was one of the inaugural murals that kicked off what was to become the Skeena Salmon Arts Festival mural project.
Email: caseybraam@gmail.com
Facebook: Art by Casey Braam
Instagram: @cabraam
Casey Braam is an artist and illustrator living amongst the towering hemlocks and snowy peaks of Terrace, BC. His wildlife art is featured on Netflix’s Meateater and championed by conservation groups, including Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance and Wild Sheep Society of BC. He has exhibited work at Vancouver’s Pacific Arts Market, Skeena Salmon Arts Festival, and Kitimat Museum and Gallery. Casey’s work can be seen in local cafes and restaurants, and as far away as Vancouver Island, where an orca hunts salmon on the walls of Riverquest Fishing Charters.
Casey can’t remember a time when he didn’t have a pencil in his backpack or a mountain goat on his mind. He paints what he knows – roaring rivers, majestic eagles, alpine meadows and bugling elk. As an outdoorsman, Casey’s live-off-the-land lifestyle is fully integrated with his artistic pursuits. He loves to cook with wild game and fill his kitchen with friends and family always eager to enjoy the feast.
Creativity runs through Casey’s veins and across his family tree. His grandfather, who shares the same name, was renown locally for his historical pen and ink drawings. Casey’s family, including his father, a talented wood carver, are also sources of artistic inspiration and encouragement.
Whether a mural or a sketch, Casey’s art always invites his viewers to reflect on the immediacy of the natural world. There is no space between the viewer and the charcoal eyes of a suspicious owl or the inked fur of a hackled black bear. Even the smallest grouse demands attention thanks to the detailed work of Casey’s brush or digital pen.
Large scale projects are a passion for Casey and the walls of Terrace’s downtown testify to the power his big-picture thinking and collaborative style. These ambitious mural projects bring the wilderness and the city into the same world. When the gentle gaze of a grazing moose catches the eyes of a passerby, the stop lights and traffic fade away, and for a moment, they are immersed in the wild.
Check out Casey's other work: