LYNN BONACK,                
Muralist & Multi-Media Artist

March 2009 Artist of the Month

By Gay Scheffen
Three Lakes Center for the Arts in the North Woods

Lynn Bonack thinks big – and paints big.  Her murals are as expansive as her mind and no one is going to rein in this lithe lady.

Bonack is a runner, which suits her active life style. She’s too busy to walk.

Safari World (the business that she and her husband own and operate) is directly across Hwy. 45 from the Three Eagle Trail in Three Lakes.  This is where she frequently runs.   

Inspired by this sylvan setting, Bonack snapped a photo of a favorite spot on the trail and transformed it into a 9ft.by 9ft. mural for the town of Three Lakes.  The painting is done in acrylics, all brushed by hand. The location for installation on an exterior business wall will be disclosed this spring.

Bonack was born in Wheaton, IL.  Her Mother and Grandmother were involved in artistic pursuits and she followed their lead.  She began taking art classes in high school and it wasn’t long before “ I knew there was a connection with me and this thing called art, “ Bonack said. 

She continued her studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, MN.  Enrolling in a mural class, she learned how to take a small image and make it large.  “I knew right away that this was for me.  For most people mural images are too big.  I love big.  For me, they’re just right,” Bonack said. 

Her family had a cottage in Three Lakes where they vacationed.  Martin Bonack was beginning his career in taxidermy and had won an award for a mount (re-creation) of a mountain lion attacking a mule deer. This was displayed for a few days on the lawn of the Dairy Queen in Three Lakes and caught Bonack’s eye.  “I was amazed, “she said.  “This was a completely new kind of art for me.”  Martin Bonack not only won an award but a bride as well, and he and Lynn were married in 1981.  

“While we were getting Martin’s new business off the ground, I kept up my artwork by painting saws and doing commissions, and portraits of people and dogs,” Bonack said.  She began working with her husband by creating and painting natural habitat to enhance the mounts and displays. “Once I had to construct a large tree and actually made 10,000 leaves for it.”  

In 1986, a museum, “Journey into the Wild,” was built in Hazelhurst,WI. and Bonack was commissioned to paint a variety of murals.  “The largest was 20 ft. by 100 ft.” she recalled.  The backgrounds were sprayed with an airgun and the details were brushed in.  “There was a North American mural, one of Africa, Alaska, an underwater one and others.  It’s a shame.  The business was eventually sold and the murals destroyed.” 

Taxidermy doesn’t mean “stuffed” animals anymore.  The word is derived from the Greek words; taxis, meaning movement; and derma, meaning skin. So translated loosely, taxidermy means the movement of skin.  The modern taxidermist must incorporate many crafts to achieve his end and needs a great deal of artistic talent. While natural skin, fur, feathers and scales are still used, many mounts are largely re-created from man-made materials.

“When Martin and I work together, we often argue about the positions of the animals,” Bonack explained.  “He usually wins. No - he always wins, because he’s always right!” (There’s a recipe for a happy marriage.)  “He is a master of muscle movement. No one knows muscle like Martin. He knows exactly how to pose an animal to make it really life like.”

Museums and companies such as Bass Pro and Cabela use the talents of the Bonacks for creating displays and dioramas.  Lynn does research to determine the appropriate native rocks, brush, etc. These objects are made from a kind of foam material that she paints in the natural colors. 

Deer, fish and gamebirds no longer dominate the North Woods taxidermy scene.  Last year alone, the Bonacks sold six full size African elephants.  The process to create this magnificent mammal requires many complex stages of development.  Bonack tackles the painting enthusiastically.  “ If you asked the average person to paint an elephant, they’d sarcastically say, ‘Yea, right!’ But I love it.” The elephant requires three coats of finish before it’s complete.

Bonacks’ large reproductions, under the company name of Kingdom Reproductions, include hippos, rhinos and crocodiles.  “It’s really tough to get the color right on crocs,” Bonack said. When completed, these animals must be shipped out on semis.  They have had orders from as far away as Washington, Connecticut and New Orleans, with one elephant journeying to an L.A. living room.  Bonacks travel to set up the finished product at the final destination.  They do any necessary touch-ups and determine that everything is as it should be.

In between elephants and murals, Bonack designs the sets for the Three Lakes Theater Co.  Each year they call and tell her which musical will be performed that June and then her work begins.

 Bonack was “artist in residence” for the Three Lakes Elementary School and led the kids in the making of a mural.  She designed the “four seasons” theme but kept her hands off the project.  “Every single child in the school was involved in at least some small way,” she said. “The leaves on the trees were made by outlines of the children’s hands.”

Bonack enjoys knitting, sells the finished pieces and has plans to teach.  She was inspired to take up pottery by her daughter, Brook.  She attended pottery classes at Nicolet College and now sells her hand built pots, along with her daughter’s wheel turned pieces, in a display area at Safari World.  Bonacks’ son, Forrest, contributes his own specialty to the family business.  His Bio-Chem background helped develop a stronger and more durable finish for the reproductions.

 When asked if she had considered taking up sculpture, Bonack laughed, with a revealing twinkle in her eye.  “This is an ever changing, ever evolving business, “ she said.  Visit this vibrant artist at 7036 Hwy. 45 in Three Lakes. 
www.kingdomreproductions.com