EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared in Heart of Ohio Magazine in 2014. It is being republished through a cooperative agreement with Richland Source. To read more stories on Heart of Ohio Magazine log on at www.heartofohiomagazine.com.
If you are destined to grow up to be an artist, being the son of a famous illustrator isn’t a bad beginning.
Eric Grohe’s childhood was spent watching and learning as his father, Glenn Grohe, sat at his easel creating illustrations for Collier’s, Ladies Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, to name a few.
“All these years later, I still marvel when I look at my father’s work — the subtle nuances and detail. I’m still just in awe of his talent,” Eric said. “As a kid, our family lived in West Port, Connecticut, a convenient train stop for New York. All of our family friends were illustrators.
“I grew up with the impression that some people delivered the mail or drove a bus, but everybody else painted. My brother or sister would be borrowed to sit for one of these artists and a month later they would appear in some national magazine.”
Eric created posters and small projects while in elementary, junior and high school — “low-level artwork” as he calls it. Recognizing his talent, his art teacher helped him land a national scholarship to the Burnley School in Seattle.
“It was a unique educational experience in that the teachers weren’t just teachers; they were working art professionals. One day they might be teaching you to sketch, the next you’d be helping them finish a project they were working on. We learned by doing,” he remembered.
Eric was drafted into the Army in 1965 and spent a year in Vietnam. Upon returning, he began to receive oil-on-canvas commissions for city, county, state and corporate projects. He also worked in New York City as an illustrator.
“My switch to mural painting was prompted by Senator Jesse Helm’s threatening to defund the National Endowment for the Arts. The number of fine art commissions available was soon cut in half. I accepted my first exterior mural project to broaden my client base and survive. I soon discovered a love for large-scale artwork,” Eric said.
Today you can find Grohe murals in Washington state, Oregon, Niagara Falls and Malaysia, and there are things in the works in several other countries. Ohio boasts 14 of his works of art in Bucyrus, Marion, Columbus, Massillon, Canton and Steubenville. Taking on one project a year, Eric usually spends six months researching and designing his murals and six months painting.
After completing a two-year oil-on-canvas project for Coca-Cola, he revisited his murals in Bucyrus to repair some areas where a wall had failed.
“Basically I’m repairing the areas, although the paint is in wonderful condition. I’ve redone the areas where the wall repairs had to be made, and I’m doing some touch-up. It’s interesting when you revisit work and look at it with fresh eyes. You see details you want to change.”
Are they details anyone would see with an untrained eye?
“No,” he smiled. “You won’t see the changes but you will feel them.”
Of all his murals, Liberty Remembers in Bucyrus is his favorite. Dedicated on Nov. 1, 2001, the project was nearing completion when 9/11 happened.
“People came from all over with flowers and notes and cards that they placed at the monument. I put up a sign that said, ‘Her torch still shines. Her flag still waves.’ That got such a response that I worked it into the ‘carving’ on the second arch. That slogan is now set in stone,” Eric said.
Liberty Remembers (36’ x 44′) depicts Lady Liberty cradling a dying soldier in her arms. On the wall and the pillars are the faces of 284 veterans from Crawford County, Ohio.
“We put out a call for pictures of soldiers for the memorial. The response was absolutely overwhelming. We received pictures, diaries, dog tags; I don’t think I’ve ever been so touched. One of the faces is that of a soldier who served with George Washington. He lived to be 103, and his face is there.”
Understanding the importance of preserving the stories of these soldiers, Eric’s wife, Kathy, decided to scan and document every submission before returning the items to their owners. She encouraged the community to publish the submissions she had documented; the Crawford County Genealogical Society took up the challenge.
Kathy Grohe designed the book cover as dedicated volunteers entered and edited data which became the book, Liberty Remembers: Veterans and Servicemen/Women of Crawford County, Ohio. The book was such a success that a second volume, Honored and Remembered, was later published.
The first Grohe mural, Bucyrus, Great American Crossroads, (34’ x 130′) serves as the backdrop for events in midtown Centennial Park. It depicts the center of Bucyrus early in the last century as Model-T Fords jockey for position with horse drawn carriages. Over 80 locals posed for the figures in the street scene.
It is unimaginable that anyone using a cement block wall as a canvas could create such beauty. Liberty glows in the sunlight, an amazing 3D effect creating depth and curves that came from Eric Grohe’s paint brush. Standing in Centennial Park, you peer into the early days of the bustling town of Bucyrus; the people who populate the scene seem ready to speak.
Eric is passionate about his work; he loves doing things that make a difference in a community, as opposed to work that only makes money.
“It’s about integrated art, work that is appropriate to the town and the environment. It’s about something that does a city good, not something just to cover a bad wall,” he said.
Both Liberty Remembers and Bucyrus, Great American Crossroads are owned and maintained by The Community Foundation for Crawford County and the Crawford County Chamber of Commerce. They are solely supported by donations.
The Bucyrus Tourism and Visitors Bureau offers mural tours. For details on booking a tour, call 866-562-0720, or on the web at www.visitbucyrus.com.
