Here’s the Good News: Blessed to still be painting and living: Waverly artist Dan Hatala reflects on canvas of 'The Last Supper,' creating town murals

There’s a church in Fennimore, Wisconsin, where, in a special room, prayer goes on 24/7.

Every day of the year.

Every year for at least three decades.

It has been a tradition at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

A way of affirming the faith.

In short order, a special canvas will be placed on the prayer room’s wall there, adding to the atmosphere of peace and serenity.

It is a rendition of “The Last Supper” and it is painted by Waverly artist Dan Hatala.

Known in town and in the area for his murals, including two prominent ones in Waverly, Hatala has been working intensely on “The Last Supper” project for more than six weeks now. For him, it has been quite the journey, artistically, logistically and experientially.

After minor revisions suggested just last week by the church, like toning down some of the brighter colors on the cloaks of the disciples, Hatala is ready to let go of his work so others can enjoy it.

Having his canvas displayed about 10 feet off the ground so that it is the most prominent piece of art in that prayer space would be a rite of passage for the artist and an important moment in the church’s history.

“It’s not something that people can get right up close to,” he said. “But it’s kinda neat to think that it’ll be inspiring to people that are in there, praying around the clock.”

This is by far the biggest canvas Hatala has made for a church, and therefore his most significant work so far with a faith theme.

It may very well signal a new direction in his evolution as an artist.

It happened somewhat haphazardly, as many unexpected things in life do. Earlier this year, Hatala was contacted by a company called Riehle Decorating.

The Cresco-based family business, now operated by a fourth generation, prides itself on renovating and restoring the interiors of old banks, churches, homes and other buildings, according to the company’s website. Launched by Frederick Riehle in 1939, over the years the company has done work in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among its more recent projects is a church in Independence, Iowa.

Hatala’s artistic skills were a good fit for the company and through them, he was commissioned to create 24 paintings for a church in Roseville, Iowa, mostly symbols, which put his work in focus and eventually led to “The Last Supper” project.

“This is the biggest thing I’ve ever painted on canvas,” he said.

Working on murals celebrating the spirit of Iowa communities

A Fort Madison native, in 1976, Hatala graduated from Hawkeye Tech, now Hawkeye Community College. He went there guided by a high school teacher, and earned an associate’s degree in graphic arts, effectively launching his career as an illustrator, painter, mural artist, designer and ultimately, a business owner.

His first job for an advertising agency in Waverly, owned by the late Gloria Aleff, at the age of 18, opened his eyes to the opportunities that his skills afforded him. It was the reason why he came to town and ended up settling here.

Later, Hatala moved to Hellman Associates in Waterloo, where he learned and created in equal measure for 11 years, eventually developing the confidence and the courage to start his own business in 1996.

In all the years since, Hatala’s talent, his character and his luck have worked in tandem, allowing him to provide for his family and nurture his artistic soul with meaningful projects, a rare privilege, he admits.

He estimates he has done about 15 murals in Iowa and one in Nebraska so far.

Among his most highly visible projects are murals that capture the pride of small town America and reflect the spirit of the community that has commissioned the work. He doesn’t name his murals, but rather, lets the images speak for themselves.

“I just call them by the name of the town that they’re in,” he said.

Hatala is the artist behind two prominent murals in Waverly. The first one adorns the side of The Mixing Bowl at 214 E. Bremer Ave., and the other is the railroad-themed mural on the north side of the Exchange Building at South Riverside Park.

In 2022, I observed Hatala working on the railroad mural in the unrelenting August heat, but the conditions didn’t seem to bother him.

“It’s the luck of the draw with weather a lot of times,” he told me.

Hatala is also the creator of the artwork on the museum wall at the Waverly Fire Station, which sums up the history of the department in a visual timeline.

In Sumner, he completed a mural for their main street about three years ago, which, he says, “is probably the largest” he has created.

In Ord, Nebraska, a town with an estimated 2,078 residents, Hatala tackled a single-story NAPA store building. On a wall he estimated to be 100 feet long, he painted a rancher sitting on the fender of his truck, his dog beside him, in the midst of a pastoral landscape.

And then there’s the project in Fredericksburg, where, on the side of a building, he painted a girl blowing bubbles and another one in Fairbank, where he painted a girl catching fireflies.

Crafting such imaginative projects that portray the joys of life in a small community is Hatala’s favorite assignment, he says.

Painting “The Last Supper”

When he started working on “The Last Supper,” Hatala looked at other paintings and “loosely” based his composition on that.

“This is a little bit more life-like,” he said of his canvas.

He said the detail in the faces of the disciples came in the process of painting.

“I don’t think anybody really knows what the disciples looked like,” he said. “All that we know is some of the disciples were old and some were young, and so as long as I have a mix of different ages in there, it’s okay.”

Murals and canvases pose different challenges for the artist

The scope of Hatala’s work is wide-reaching. He has painted dog portraits, nature, buildings and family heirlooms for individuals as well as big commercial orders for murals, canvases and architectural renderings for cities and companies.

However, because of their prominence, his murals garner a lot of attention from the community and often become the single iconic image for a town where senior photos and selfies are often taken in great abundance.

Hatala loves creating public art because of the joy it elicits and the personal stories it draws out. While he works in a community, he is often visited by many of its members, who want to witness the process.

A humble and affable guy, Hatala indulges his spectators in conversations, answers their questions, listens to their stories and takes their feedback to heart. After all, having a mural in town is no small matter and everyone wants to be a part of it in some way because everyone owns it.

Hatala says murals typically require more physical agility from the artist while canvases can be done in the comfort of his workshop.

Depending on the location, often Hatala has to work using hydraulic lifts, and in Independence, where he painted the American flag, he had to rely on ladders. Such intensity takes a toll on the body, he said. Yet, at 68, he has no plans of quitting.

“I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel yet,” he said. “But when my knees say I’m done, then I’m done. My body will tell me, but I enjoy it right now.”

Like any artist, Hatala thinks about the longevity of his work and that’s one of the reasons why he uses acrylic paint for murals and canvases.

Acrylic paint dries fast, but it weathers well, Hatala said, hence the continued vibrancy of the scenes he painted.

He said that murals like the ones in Waverly are likely to last for 30 or 40 years.

“A lot of these things, I think they actually look a little bit better the older they get,” he said. “It just gets a little bit more subtle.”

How Hatala translates what he sees in his mind’s eye to the end of his brush, remains one of the artistic mysteries for the layperson.

“It’s probably more a matter of just making it up as I go,” he said.

Asked if his most recent work for churches is where he will move creatively next, he says it’s very likely.

“It’s kind of a new area to wander into and I enjoy the change of pace,” he said.

“I enjoy doing the murals but there’s also something really interesting about this church work that will be indoors in a church, I would think this stuff will outlast anything outdoors.

“I still really like doing the murals just because people will stop and tell me how much they like it and how much it adds to the town and it’s just kind of a matter of making people smile,” he continued. “If you can bring a smile to somebody’s face, it’s a good day. I am blessed to still be painting and living.”