Fresh look, old church: Professional interior painter repainting St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Upon entering St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pocahontas, the smell of fresh paint in the sanctuary contrasts the warm country air outside.

Ted Mueller, a professional interior painter from Chester, Ill., has transformed an outdated facade with his best techniques, just in time for the congregation to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the current church building in October.

Mueller began repainting the church's interior in May.

Church member Jerry Petzol said the church's restoration committee hired Mueller through a reference from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Mo., just a few miles north of Pocahontas. After hiring him, they discovered the last person to paint their church had been Mueller's father in the 1970s.

Mueller took over the family business and has been painting the interiors of churches, businesses and homes for close to 40 years, though he said initially he did not have an interest in following in his father's footsteps.

"My dad painted this church last time it was done, and the time before that, so we've been working down here going on before the Second World War," Mueller said.

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church began services in Pocahontas in the 1860s, with the first services being held in the homes of members, according to a written history of the church. The first building used by the congregation was completed in 1870. In 1892, a new church was built, and in 1895 the church was joined by a school. The second church was destroyed by a fire in May 1910, and replaced by the current church building in October of the same year.

Through the 1900s, the church added a new altar, a pipe organ, colored glass windows and various building improvements and additions. Before the church was built, many Lutherans from Pocahontas went to church in Altenburg and New Wells, Mo. St. John's provided Lutherans in Pocahontas their own place to worship.

Petzol said the church committee decided to hire Mueller because members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg made him seem like an artist, which was what they were looking for to repaint the church and transform the decor from plain colors and walls to more intricate detail work.

Mueller said over the years he has painted about 100 churches in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. He has ancestors from the Altenburg and Frohna, Mo. area, he said.

The interior of the church appears to have new features that upon closer inspection reveal themselves to be painting techniques used by Mueller. Using a faux finish technique, he added spots that mimic stone in the arch of the altar. Columns at the back of the church appear to be marble. He repainted the frames surrounding the windows from a dull pine to look like newly finished oak and covered the organ pipes and various other accents throughout the church in gold leaf.

"The decorating techniques I use are very old, and not the normal way of doing things anymore," Mueller said.

For the first month of work, Mueller had a helper painting the walls, but for the last month he has worked primarily alone, completing the faux finishes, 23-karat-gold leaf accents and adding hand-painted Luther seals to the walls.

Mueller said faux finish is an old design technique that has come back in fashion again. He applies glazing liquids with a brush and rag to a base coat to create the stone look, and hand paints the window frames with an artist's brush to make them appear as if they have a natural wood grain.

On the columns he uses a translucent glaze and different colors of paint to create streaks, and finishes with polyurethane for a polished look.

Mueller said his father used some of the same techniques, which he learned from an old German painter. Mueller has learned other techniques from workshops over the years. Mueller said he has practiced some of the techniques in his home, but leaves the brunt of the work for when he has a project. He also oversees the painting of murals in churches he works on, done by his wife, Dianna, who is a freelance artist.

"This is a beautiful little church for down here in Pocahontas, and you don't see them like this all the time," Mueller said.

The congregation has used the hall beside the church for services while Mueller painted the sanctuary.

In October, Petzol said, the church will hold a mission festival and dedication of remodeling, and will again participate in the annual Christmas Country Church Tour.