Art or graffiti? Beachside paintings of cartoons spark conversation in scenic N.S. community

unauthorised paintings created on boulders on a beach in Nova Scotia’s capital of maryland vale feature sparked a conversation about where to draw the line between art and graffiti — and whether a natural environment is an appropriate place for such creations.

Over the past three years, cartoon characters have been painted on large boulders that line the road to the beach in Margaretsville, N.S.

The characters include Goomba, Toad and Yoshi from Super Mario and Mrs. Puff, Gary the Snail and Eugene H. Krabs from SpongeBob SquarePants, among others.

Luanne Hartman is the general manager of the Art Shack Gallery, which is located just down the short gravel road from the boulders.

“I can't say this isn't art, because art is something that's subjective in everybody's eyes … but to me, it borders graffiti," she said. "Graffiti is typically known to be an expression without permission.”

Paintings in other outdoor settings in Nova Scotia have drawn positive attention.

A painting of eyes on two large rocks became a beloved unofficial landmark for some travellers along Highway 103. Other memorable outdoor paintings include a cartoon frog, a dice and a cat that evokes famed painter Maud Lewis’s style.

But the difference is those paintings were created on the side of a busy highway, not a beautiful, serene beach on the Bay of Fundy.

Hartman said the gallery receives visitors from all over the world and on a busy day welcomes at least 100 people. She said people sometimes ask about the painted boulders.

"A few of them have come in and said 'what's with the rocks?' And I haven't found anybody really defending them yet."

Adam Lemieux is the president of the Margaretsville Shore Society, which is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the community’s waterfront.

He says the cartoon paintings are not the first impression the community wants to offer — or the experience visitors are looking for.

“It’s not what people would typically associate with our little fishing village here,” he said. “They come here to see the bay. They come here to see the birds, the seaweed, the lighthouse, the rocks. They can see SpongeBob and Super Mario elsewhere.”

The Shore Society has previously tried to remove a couple of the paintings with a power washer, an endeavour that took “a whole day and a lot of water and a lot of power,” Lemieux said.

But the paint is not easy to remove, so the Shore Society is now hoping to gather the resources to try a sandblaster.

Lemieux said at least some of the paintings were made by an adult, and the Shore Society has spoken with the creator.

“It didn't take a lot of sleuthing to find out who had done the work,” he said. “We did reach out to them and they weren't particularly interested in helping to get rid of it.”

Although some people may assume the boulders are on public property, Lemieux said they are actually on private property.

Raymond Pierce owns the land where some of the boulders are placed. 

He says the rocks were installed by the Shore Society — of which he is a member — to protect the road and adjacent properties from storm surges. Funding for the project came from the Shore Society’s budget, which is supported by community funding.

Pierce said he filed a report with the RCMP but was told there was not enough information to lay charges. He also spoke with one of the people who created the paintings, and since then, no new pieces have appeared from that person, who initials their work.

Pierce is on board with the society’s plan to attempt to remove them with a sandblaster.

“Even though some of the artwork is really quite artistic, they shouldn't be placed on private property without the owner's permission," he said.

But not everyone is eager to see SpongeBob and his friends fade into oblivion. Recent social media posts about the paintings have prompted comments supporting the creations.

Angel Fonseca was visiting the beach with her dog Aspen on a recent sunny day.

Fonseca, who lives in the Valley, said the paintings of SpongeBob and his aquatic friends were a pleasant, nostalgic reminder of her childhood.

“I thought it was pretty cool, actually,” she said.

Fonseca said she’s not bothered that the paintings are in a natural setting.

“I think it's great to be able to blend the two — nature’s beauty in addition to art that is created by humans. It kind of shows how we can cohabitate together.”

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