A picture that tells a story

WALLACE — “Hispanic culture calls this type of art a Viaje, which means a ‘trip.’ This also translates to ‘a picture that tells a story.”

Using a medium of ballpoint-pen and working for 225 hours, Zach Newton has created his first art piece in a new series that he plans on working on for the next 10 to 20 years. The first piece is a mural that includes the beginnings of historic Wallace, Idaho.

“Wallace is the first location of my new series,” he said. “I love this place more than anywhere else. When I moved here I fell in love with the history, and the people.”

The overall series will be focused on the history of the area, including portraits, buildings, wildlife and cultures wrapped up in a mural.

Newton recently lived in Wallace for about four and a half months before personal matters took him back to Washington. Spending most of his life working in restaurants and bars, Newton is excited to focus full time on his artwork.

“I lived in Colorado and worked at a bar in a small ski town and did a similar piece that I worked on for four years,” he said. “Locals and regulars would come into the bar and I ended up selling them for $100 a piece. It gave people the opportunity to support the ski area that they loved.”

With this most recent Wallace piece, he wanted to focus on the early days of the town. Newton began doing research from the moment he moved there — spending time in the different shops, museums, and getting to understand the culture and make connections.

“I found it fascinating,” he said. “I met some families who took me under their wing and they connected me with the Barnard-Stockbridge museum, who pointed me in the right direction.”

The mural itself shows many prominent figures of the early days of Wallace, such as the famed Colonel William R. Wallace, firefighting hero Ed Pulaski, movie star Lana Turner, Native American political champion Chief Joseph R. Garry and explorer/U.S. soldier John Mullan.

The mural is not only composed of portraits, but also shows historical buildings, as well as the remarkable wilderness and wildlife of the area. From buildings like the Northern Pacific Railroad, bordellos, and hotels/saloons, to the representation of the toughest hardworking miners — the mural definitely tells a story.

Newton is currently working on getting more prints made, as he is currently sold out.

“I wasn’t sure what the reaction was going to be, but everyone in the community had such an excited response.”

Starting April 20, prints of the mural will be sold at Blackboard Cafe in Wallace. The print will also come with a narrative, written by Newton with an explanation and description of the figures.

He is planning on selling no more than 100 of them, but this isn’t the end for Newton and his art on the history of Wallace.

“I have a lot of things I want to do for Wallace in the future. This is only the beginning.”