Olga Pastuchiv with her recently completed, nine-pane mural at Brunswick’s Curtis Memorial Library. Courtesy of Curtis Memorial Library

Olga Pastuchiv, a Richmond-based author, painter and illustrator, recently completed a nine-panel mural in the Children’s Area at Curtis Memorial Library featuring marine life found off the shores of Brunswick and Harpswell. The mural was commissioned by the family of the late Susan S. Dattilo, a Chicago-area woman who worked in and loved libraries, and visited Maine annually for 20 years before her passing.

Pastuchiv’s work is featured throughout the library, including the butterfly murals surrounding the Nancy Bouchard Laffely Children’s Garden as well as over 20 small, whimsical illustrations found throughout the library as part of an art treasure hunt for visitors of all ages.

“I was honored to be asked to paint this mural in memory of a special person who loved libraries, in a library that means so much to me,” Pastuchiv said in a prepared release from the library. “I also feel so lucky to have been able to work with Senior Library Assistant Clint McDowell, who took the initiative to create a wonderful key to accompany the mural — identifying the marine life in each panel, complete with their Latin names.”

“We knew Olga was the perfect person for this special project,” said Assistant Director and Youth Services Manager Pam Jenkins. “The Dattilo family was looking for an artist with classic sensibilities. Olga’s colorful likenesses beautifully convey the region’s marine life in a way that invites both children and adults to lean in to get a closer look at the fine details and descriptions of her work.”

In 2022, Pastuchiv co-wrote the children’s book “Ada and the Galaxies” with Alan Lightman about star gazing on an island in Maine. She wrote and illustrated the children’s book “Minas and the Fish” in 1997 and is currently working on a picture book for Neal Porter Books.

A graduate of Vassar College, Pastuchiv also studied at the Massachusetts College of Art but is in many ways a self-taught artist. Her art is primarily in woodcut, acrylics and oils. Her subject matter is often water- and light-related. Her art work has been exhibited and positively received in art galleries throughout Maine, at Harvard and Cornell universities, and many other venues in the United States and Europe, such as in Ukraine, France and Greece.

The mural is available to view during library hours — 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Curtis Memorial Library is located at 93 Pleasant St. in Brunswick.

Join the Conversation

Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.