Mural adds flavor to Rehoboth Ale House wall

Rehoboth Ale House owner Adam Newman was tired of looking at the drab, featureless wall that faces his parking lot and can easily be seen from Wilmington Avenue.

So on the heels of the ambitious and successful Kraken mural at Dogfish Head, he hired artist Holly Fields-Scott to show off her creativity and unique style on a new mural at Rehoboth Ale House.

“We wanted to show that we’re not scared of COVID. We’re not going anywhere,” Newman said. “It shows that even during these times we’re still coming up with some ideas and things to do to keep us all moving and smiling under our masks.”

Fields-Scott said she sat with Newman in the restaurant and did a bunch of thumbnail sketches on napkins. From there, she developed three or four designs for Newman to choose from.

“We were trying to keep it as simple as possible because there are usually cars parking in front of it. And we also wanted it to rise above the cars,” Fields-Scott said.

Like the Kraken at Dogfish, the new mural is interactive with a 3D quality. When standing in front of it, it looks like a viewer can see through the letters A-L-E. A staff with musical notes weaves in and out of the letters, and a bottle with Rehoboth Ale House’s address appears to sit behind the wall, seen only through the letters.

The plan is to add light to the mural, which, Fields-Scott said, will really make it stand out at night.

Fields-Scott worked on the wall with her daughter Nevada on five consecutive weekends beginning in June.

She’s very pleased with the result.

“People can pose with it,” she said. “It looks like openings in the wall. You can pretend you’re standing inside the letters. Just have fun with it.”