THOMASVILLE- The UnVacant Lot was filled with artists this week as the Center for the Arts eagerly prepares for its annual music and arts festival, Due South.

While Joe Cowdrey’s “Morning at the Fresh Spring,” mural can still be found at the lot, artist Trish Land has added a new mural alongside Cowdrey, full of Thomasville’s famous roses. However, it’s not Thomasville that inspired the beloved flower. The mural stems from a story of love and loss found amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Land, who hails from Albany, Ga., originally got involved with the Thomasville Center for the Arts when she applied for the Wildlife Arts Festival show four years ago.

“I’ve done the show every year since then and have a great love for Thomasville,” she said.

Land’s love for Thomasville inspired Public Arts Director, Darlene Crosby Taylor, to invite her back to paint her infamous roses, after Land shared her story.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was forced to leave my studio and go home to work,” Land recalled. “I felt a little lost like everyone else did, but I started to paint roses, which I had never painted before.”

Land said roses were in bloom outside in her yard and she was awestruck by their beauty, so she just began trying to capture the scene.

“It was a time when people couldn’t get to their moms and grandmas or go to the nursing homes, so I posted on Facebook a picture of my rose painting and asked whose mama needed this,” Land said.

She was overwhelmed with the responses.

Approximately 77 people responded instantly.

“Instead of choosing one person to give the painting to, I painted 77 roses,” she said. “Long story short, it became a passion project and I’ve now painted thousands of roses.”

Sharing her talent with others amid such a devastating and difficult time has brought joy to countless individuals, but this particular mural is special to Land, as it will now be a permanent fixture that brings joy to anyone who stops by, regardless if they ever meet her.

“It’s become a symbol of love,” Land explained. “Every rose I’ve ever done has “for the love of you” inscribed on it, so this mural will be named “For the love of you.”

Filled with emotion, Land said while the mural is a light, it is also a reminder of all the people who were lost during COVID-19, and she hopes this work will remind everyone to “truly love your people.”

Land said while she originally envisioned the mural to be somewhat smaller, she has allowed the surface to speak to her, gravitating toward a larger area of the historic walls of the lot.

“It’s really come together and I just love it so much,” she said. “I really wanted it to feel like these were historic, heirloom roses.”

Beyond her mural, Land also created the 35 hand-made signs to signify the annual Rose Festival that adorn lampposts and street signs Downtown.

“It’s all part of the compassion project,” she concluded. “I don’t paint for me, I paint for others, so to get to share this with the community is an exclamation at the end of the story.”

Residents and visitors can see Land’s permanent mural at the UnVacant lot, where her story will now reside in the hearts of others.