MADISON – The Painted Violin expo will feature artwork by native Madisonian Mason P. Overcash at the 2019 Crescen-Dough Auction.

Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild supports symphony programs with the annual auction, scheduled for April 12 at 6 p.m. at the Von Braun Center North Hall.

“The Painted Violin Society reached out to me to participate this year,” Overcash said. “It was an opportunity that I was honored and eager to participate in.”

For several years, Mason and wife Ashley and their children have enjoyed the family concerts that Painted Violin Society sponsors. “I’m delighted to give support to the society in any way I can,” Overcash said.

At Crescen-Dough, guests can bid on the violins that Overcash and two other artists, Chip Cooker and Nall Hollis, have painted. Along with support from Jerry Damson Automotive, proceeds from the Painted Violin project will help pay for the symphony’s Family Concert Series. (crescendoughauction.org)

“Our son’s affection for the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra’s production of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ inspired my violin’s theme,” Overcash said. “Our children’s immersion in the sights and sounds of musical theatre was compelling to watch as an adult.”

“Our children look at the world with a sense of wonder and continually inspire me to try and do the same. This violin is a reminder of these experiences,” Overcash said.

As an art teacher at James Clemens High School, Overcash enjoys working alongside students to show his creative process. “Additionally, I value any opportunity to demonstrate that art can serve a far greater purpose than creating an aesthetically pleasing product. With this in mind, I conceptualized and created this violin in the company of my students.”

To start, Overcash sanded and primed painted surfaces to prepare the violin’s wood to accept paint and remain archival.

The sides and back retain the original cherry color. Overcash painted a scene from “Peter and the Wolf” on the front surface.

“The painting is set in an atmospheric snowy environment and shows Peter searching for the wolf while holding the rope he intends to use in its capture,” he said. “At the top, the wolf is stalking Peter behind an aspen tree, painted on the violin’s fingerboard.”

From conception to completion, his project required about 20 hours.

Painting on a violin presented both design challenges and opportunities. Overcash wanted to create a work of art that felt vast but he was confined to the violin’s borders.

“However, aspects of the violin presented opportunities (unavailable) on flat surfaces. The body’s shape and f-holes embellished the movement and design of the piece,” Overcash said.

The fingerboard, which encompasses the neck, floats over and beyond the body. This structure “created the opportunity to imply depth, as the wolf can walk behind the aspen tree,” he said.

For more information about Overcash’s painting, visit masonpovercash.wixsite.com/portraiture/oil-portraits.