As artists finish painting huge murals, they become a small blip on the medium from the perspective of the observer who soaks in the work from afar.
Marco Arce and Mya Ortiz didn’t initially see the Chilean professional artist Dasic Fernández while walking to catch the Metro-North train after a pool trip in White Plains.
He was outside on a green lift, spray painting – now for approximately two weeks – and finishing up his latest work on a building wall at 25 N. Lexington Ave. His headphones were fastened on. He was focused and not in a rush.
“It’s very beautiful,” said Ortiz of Chappaqua. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this.”
Arce, her boyfriend from the Bronx, noted, “It’s not the graffiti you’d sometimes see in the city.”
They said the 2,840-square-foot mural could bring peace, tranquility and happiness to others as well as love, good vibes and positivity. Another passerby was excited by the “cool” addition with depictions of nature.
Fernández, who travels around the world and spends a lot of time in places like New York City in addition to Santiago, Chile, has been working the last two weeks of June to transform the wall of Greystar’s new apartment building now under construction. The developer and ArtsWestchester commissioned the project.
The building’s being erected on New Street between Ferris and Lexington avenues. The wall where the mural now sits is underneath the parking structure attached to the bus terminal and across from the Metro-North Train Station, away from the hot sun and heavy traffic.
The colorful painting falls into the category of surrealism, said Fernández.
He described it as a “dream,” made up of nearly 90 colors, resembling the “elements” of life, comprised of lots of living organisms like birds and a whale, but also a few White Plains landmarks like the train station.
Fernández hopes to make a statement, “That geography and limits are just in your mind.”
“Those under the water or flying high in the sky are pretty much the same thing. No matter where we are, we are all connected and made out of the same things,” he said.
White Plains arts enthusiasts became familiar with the work of Fernandez when he took part in an exhibition at the ArtsWestchester gallery some six years ago, he said.
Fernández paints large murals on a regular basis but acknowledged the many components of his latest creation in White Plains are somewhat unique.
Despite the complexity, it’s not all a pre-planned effort.
“I had to present and get approval, but then once I’m on the wall, I make decisions on the go because the mural has to be an experience,” he added. “There’s a lot of improvisation.”
It’s the first for Fernández, 38, in White Plains, but he’s been painting in the streets since his early teenage years.
There have been other murals of artists throughout town too. Some may know artist Ann Ladd’s painting on a wall along Maple Avenue between Odell and Rathbun avenues.
Murals lend value to the community and Fernández hopes his and others’ work inspire the next generation
“I hope it has an impact on the young people just starting in art, maybe doing some graffiti,” he said. “They can see what’s been done. When you see people working with the same tools you’re using at a very early age, you can see how the skills can be developed.”
Andy Milone has been a freelance reporter covering local government for various New Jersey and New York news outlets since May 2024. The Chatham, New Jersey native and Gettysburg College graduate previously worked as a full-time reporter for The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Iowa, Pine Barrens Tribune in New Jersey and The Shippensburg News-Chronicle in Pennsylvania. He began working as a professional journalist in 2018. You can reach him at 201-406-7222 (call/text) or by emailing andymilone@protonmail.com.
