Pinellas County-based artist gives Dunedin water tower mural makeover

DUNEDIN, Fla. - A Pinellas County-based artist Tom Stovall is currently painting the water tower on Curlew Road more than 100 feet in the air. 

He's been working on the mural since August and will likely finish one side in the middle of next month. His murals can be seen at several other locations across Tampa Bay. The tower is about 150 feet off the ground. 

"This had a pretty big learning curve because of the nature of the rigging, the painting there's so many different ropes," he said. 

One side of the tower is a gopher tortoise, the other will eventually be a sea turtle, both native to the area. The gopher tortoise in the mural is named Henry after Henry Scharrer, who settled on Caladesi Island in the 1800s. 

The sea turtle planned for the other side of the mural will be named after Doctor Sylvia Earle, the famed marine biologist from Dunedin.

When Stovall is up working on the tower's mural he said it is peaceful. Sometimes he's even joined by the nearby osprey, looking for a sneak peek.  

"I lose track of days of the week, I don’t have days of the week, I have rain, no rain, wind no wind," he said. 

He said he plans to start the second half of the tower in October, after hurricane season.