Hamilton muralist Lester Coloma has some handy tools in his arsenal when he creates his large-scale art pieces.

Coloma utilizes paintbrushes and paint, of course (he prefers Behr exterior latex) - but Coloma also relies on a somewhat less traditional resource: the Hamilton Public Library Archives.

Coloma, who has been hand-painting murals for the past 20 years, uses the HPL archives to help inspire and inform his artistic process. His murals appear across Hamilton - including at Cake & Loaf, the Mule restaurant, Mixed Media and the Foreign Affairs Office - as well as further afield in Vancouver, Kentucky, and across the globe.

Coloma was at the library Saturday to share how he uses the archives in his process as part of this year's Archives Awareness Week - a provincewide celebration of documentary heritage.

"For us, it's as much about preserving the past as it is about providing tools for our creative community to be able to access an interpret our history in new and exciting ways," said Lita Barrie, director of Collections & Program Development at the HPL. "It just seemed like such a great fit to have someone in who is such a strong supporter and regular user of our collection."

Coloma said the archives have become an invaluable part of his artistic process, especially when he's painting in his hometown.

"Any type of project that's local - that's where I go first," he said.

During his appearance at the library Saturday, Coloma focused on a mural he created in 2016 at 134 Jackson St. E., a Corktown dental office. The owners of the building, Lynne and Anthony Markowski, said they gave Coloma full control over the design, with one caveat: they didn't want any apples, toothbrushes or any other traditional emblems of dentist office art. When Coloma suggested depicting the history of Corktown, the Markowskis jumped on board.

Using the archives, Coloma discovered the area had once been home to apple, cherry, and walnut orchards, as well as wildlife such as wolves, bears, coyotes and rattlesnakes. Later, the area became farmland owned by the Springers brothers and became home to many Irish immigrants.

Coloma then used the archives to find photographs that would inspire the visual details of the mural - in particular, the clothing of one of the Irish labourers that features prominently on the front of the building.

"These are the types of details I couldn't use on my own," he said.

The resulting mural has become a focal point in the community that both beautifies and explains some of the history of the area - something that local residents have told Coloma that they weren't aware of before.

"It's a form of not only entertaining people with art, but educating them as well," said Coloma.

"It's amazing how many people have never noticed this building before," said Lynne Markowski. "It's become a bit of a landmark."

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