Audience Enjoys Interactive Painting Concert During Lilac Festival

This article and photos first appeared in the June 24 issue of the Mackinac Island Town Crier.

Jessie Kopp (left) on stage with Mike McMath of Empty Canvas, adds some strokes to a painting that was completed during the concert. MCKENNA JOHNSON / MACKINAC ISLAND TOWN CRIER

As Mike McMath and his bandmates from Empty Canvas sang “Suspicious Minds” to an audience gathered in Marquette Park Friday, June 16, his back was to the audience for most of the song and he was not holding a microphone in his hand. Instead, he held a paintbrush, and his attention was focused on painting a canvas setting atop an easel in the middle of the stage. He was painting, defining the sky above Fort Mackinac, until an audience member stepped up on the stage with a paint brush, whom he directed where to paint the next strokes.

This performance art concert, the second in a series of live music events hosted by the Lilac Festival, followed Don Middlebrook’s Jimmy Buffet tribute band the night before. Both were part of an effort by the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau to bring back live concerts to the Lilac Festival, something that was missing the last few years. This was the first time that Empty Canvas, with its current members, had come to perform on the Island, and a first for the festival.

Tim Hygh, executive director of the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau presents the finished Empty Canvas painting to Mark Ware, president of the board of the Mackinac Arts Council. The painting was donated to the Arts Council. MCKENNA JOHNSON / MACKINAC ISLAND TOWN CRIER

During a recent visit to the Island to paint a portrait of R. Daniel Musser Jr. for Grand Hotel, Mr. McMath scouted potential scenes for his performance art piece. Before the concert, he took a photograph of the park with a tablet with Fort Mackinac in the background to use as a point of reference. This allowed him to paint the surroundings of the audience, while also allowing the audience to watch his progress throughout the show. Toward the end, he took another photograph to update his reference picture and added the audience to the finished product.

“Seventy-five years, that’s incredible,” Mr. McMath said, referencing the Lilac Festival’s 75th anniversary. “We do a lot of festivals, and this is probably the oldest one I’ve ever been a part of.”

Steph Castelein, of the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, and Mark Ware, Mackinac Arts Council president, were among those invited on stage to participate in the painting. Everyone in Marquette Park that night was also invited to take a turn painting the concert canvas. Barbara Penny of Arkansas, one of the first audience members on the stage, heard about the concert the night before. It was loud on the stage, she said, and she painted a swooping curve in the top right corner of the painting.

“It was something different,” Mrs. Penny said.

Joseph and Heidi Gardi of Chicago were visiting the Island for the first time and saw the concert while walking by. Mr. Gardi ended up on stage with a paintbrush in his hand. He agreed it was a unique experience, and the two said they wished there were similar experiences in their own town.

Jessie Kopp, visiting from Cheboygan, was welcomed on stage, and she said she had a lot of fun getting to paint. She loves the Island, calling it the “jewel of the north.” She hadn’t expected it, but jumped at the chance to be part of the show.

“It was exciting to be painting,” Ms. Kopp said after returning from the stage.

Everyone was invited to participate. Shortly after Ms. Kopp left the stage, Mr. McMath stepped off the stage bringing the canvas to Connie Sova who was enjoying the concert from the lawn in a wheelchair with Ms. Kopp and Linda Green. He handed Ms. Sova a paintbrush and she added a few strokes to the piece.

Mr. McMath was joined on stage by guitarist Michael Robertson, drummer Brad Graham, and Scott McMath, Mr. McMath’s twin brother.

Before the painting was given to Mr. Ware as a donation to the Mackinac Arts Council, the concert ended with an acapella performance of “Zombie Jamboree.”

“And, the painting’s done,” Mike McMath said.