MURAL MAKERS
A Helping Hand
Mural Artist: Sophy Tuttle
Artist Location: Boston, Massachusetts
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My most recent mural, “A Helping Hand” was painted for Provincetown Public Art in Provincetown, MA. It was inspired by recent sightings of a lonely flamingo on several Cape Cod beaches. His presence this far north made me think he must be very lost and in need of a little assistance. In the same way he showed up alone in this area, many people from the LGBTQ+ community come to Provincetown because of its reputation as a welcoming community for those who have been rejected or mistreated in their own homes. I wanted to celebrate this aspect of the city, while also recognizing it as the home of Mary Oliver, a queer poet and environmentalist and one of my favorite writers. I used her poem “Wild Geese” as my doodle grid, so her soulful words are forever embedded in the piece as well.
About the Mural:
Name: A Helping Hand
Approximately 20ft x 6.5ft
Products used:
GPW Mural & Theme Pyrrole Red, Pyrrole Red Light and Carbon Black, Sherwin-Williams paint and Montana spray paints
See it at:
MacMillan Pier,
Provincetown, MA 02657
About the Maker
My name is Sophy Tuttle and I’m an English-born muralist based in Boston, Massachusetts. My work weaves science, creativity, research, and imagination into images that celebrate the beauty and force of the natural world. Often, I ask my viewer to reconsider her position in the web of life and consider new narratives of the future that explore regenerative, resilient culture-building among all forms of life.
My images invite the viewer in with bright, bold colors, and use well-researched details to tell a story. I often work with scientists and environmentalists to make sure my work is accurate and touches on ideas that the scientific community would like to see explained and explored. I believe art can be a powerful tool for social and environmental activism and I try to use my work to inspire the viewer to get more involved.
How did you get started painting murals?
I started painting murals in 2013 when I decided to do an artist residency in Oaxaca, Mexico. While I was there, I made some friends who were printmakers and painters. We would go out on the weekends and find abandoned buildings to paint or knock on doors to see if any of our neighbors wanted a mural. I fell in love with the idea of painting outside and working on such a large scale in public.
When I came back to Massachusetts, I started seeking out small opportunities to paint in my own community or to assist other artists on bigger projects. As I gained experience I got larger and larger projects and commissions, until I arrived at the full-time mural practice I have today.
Do you have any other projects coming up that you’d like to share anything about?
Next month I’ll be painting a memorial mural for a bald eagle who was well-known and loved in our community. She spent a lot of time downtown, sitting in trees and hunting for rodents in the area. Unfortunately, because of this predilection for urban prey, she ended up getting poisoned with rodenticide through her meals and she passed away. Her death has spurred the community to call for a ban on these kinds of poisons and has caused many businesses to voluntarily change the way they deal with problem animals. I want to honor both the individual who passed away and the collective action towards more humane treatment of our fellow creatures that her death inspired.
See more of Sophy Tuttle’s work:
Website: sophytuttle.com
Instagram: @sophytuttle
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