ART : Pick Up a Brush and Join the Mural

Artists who contribute to the World Environmental Mural Sculpture at the T. Heritage Gallery have no time limit, no prescribed subject matter. They don’t have to be a certain age or meet any educational or professional standards.

They have only the credo of gallery director Tim Heritage: “We want to promote positive ideas through the use of art--not just environmental awareness, but racial and social consciousness.”

In March, Heritage, 35, launched the mural project at his Westwood Village gallery, which also shows the work of established artists. He invited the public to pick up a paintbrush and become part of this communal expression.

For $3 (to cover the cost of materials), each participant is handed a 12-inch-square piece of laminated foam board, paintbrushes and acrylic paints. If asked, gallery employees are happy to offer advice. Otherwise, visitors are left on their own, with nothing but the hum of Westwood traffic to accompany their artistic forays.

“Although most people finish in one sitting, several of them have come back a few times--some for three or four hours,” Heritage says.

After each square is completed, he immediately adds it to the collection. Four squares are glued together to form a block, and the blocks are stacked. The mural currently has 126 squares.

Heritage hopes the sculpture will be a permanent, ongoing installation. He has created built-in flexibility by allowing the squares to be stacked in any configuration.

“When I was a kid,” he says cheerfully, “I played with building blocks. Now I’m doing the same thing, except that these are other people’s dreams I’m building with--and putting them together to make them stronger.”

Since the project’s inception, Heritage has catered to walk-in artists of all ages. The youngest children often sit in their parents’ laps, creating a dual vision. The oldest contributor was 92, a resident of the nearby Westwood Horizons retirement home.

Heritage has also taken painting materials to those who couldn’t come into the gallery, such as children with AIDS and patients at UCLA Medical Center. “Sometimes I think, ‘How are these paintings going to fit in?’ ” he admits. “But they fit beautifully.”

Paris Chatman, 26, sat on the gallery floor Saturday, beginning work on a brightly colored flower theme. A friend had passed the gallery and told her about it. “I love to draw wildlife and animals, and I thought it would be interesting to be a part of this project,” she says.

Though Heritage professes not to have any preferences in muralists, younger folks seem to have an advantage. “When you tell kids, ‘Paint something happy,’ they’re on it immediately,” he says. “Adults have to think about it for a while.”

The T. Heritage Art Gallery is at 1062 Westwood Blvd. in Westwood Village. Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday, noon-6 p.m. (310) 208-1896.

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