海角大神

Behind a low, unobtrusive brick building on Boston鈥檚 Lenox Street is a lush, green forest. Brown and silver-gray trees cover the building鈥檚 wall, their leafy canopies blocking the sky. Sun-dappled stones sit on tangles of grass. A boy perches on the largest rock, gazing at a distant meadow.

On the wall鈥檚 lower left corner, the word 鈥淟ove鈥� appears in bright green; opposite is the word in Spanish, 鈥淎mor,鈥� in vibrant red.

The forest is a mural, and even in the dead of winter the 18-by-85-foot painting gives a sense of beauty, warmth, and life 鈥� qualities that artist Alex Cook tries to convey in all his work.

鈥淎rt was always a deeply spiritual thing, the most real thing in my life,鈥� Mr. Cook says. 鈥淵ou want to share that kind of feeling.鈥�

That desire to share and send a message is what drives Cook to paint as much on walls as on canvas. Galleries put barriers between the art and the public, he says, but murals are like billboards 鈥� they bring no such divide.

鈥淲ith them, I can influence the world,鈥� he says.

An artist for most of his life, Cook has painted on walls all over the United States and has even packed his brushes to travel to and paint in Kenya, Nigeria, and most recently Panajachel, Guatemala. He is also a musician, having performed for churches and communities across the country for about two decades.

Cook鈥檚 songs, like his murals, reflect a message of hope, love, and beauty. His interest in music and art started around the same time, when he was a teenager. The two are simply different ways of arriving at the same goal, he says.

鈥淭hey come from the same place. [They are] expressions of the same thing,鈥� Cook says. That thing, he adds, is a 鈥渉uge desire to be honest鈥� and to give voice or imagery to beauty in a truthful way.

Cook has half a dozen albums to his name, but lately, he says, his focus is more on his visual art. His latest enterprise takes him into his native Boston, and beyond it, as he distills his passion for beauty and inspiring others into a multi-mural project he calls 鈥淵ou Are Loved.鈥�

People need to be reminded that someone cares, that they are special, he says. Each mural in the project thus contains at least one of five simple statements: 鈥淵ou are important,鈥� 鈥淵ou are needed,鈥� 鈥淵ou are beautiful,鈥� 鈥淵ou can do it,鈥� and, of course, 鈥淵ou are loved.鈥�

鈥淎rt has the potential to save someone鈥檚 life,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hy be subtle about it?鈥�

The project began in the fall of 2013 when Cook was performing in New Orleans. There he met Amy Hoyle, then a principal at a local elementary school. Ms. Hoyle was looking for new ways to engage her students and invited Cook to paint a mural on campus, based on the motto of Woodland West Elementary School: 鈥淪tay curious.鈥�

Cook delivered, painting two huge faces side by side in a strange, beautiful picture that prompted more questions than answers.

But he did more than that. Touched by the students, many of whom were poor and had difficult home lives, Cook decided to paint something that would remind them every day of how special they were. The result was a hallway filled with a palette of colors and messages telling all who passed by that they were beautiful, needed, important, and loved. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like walking through a warm hug,鈥� Hoyle says.

Cook left New Orleans inspired. He has since traveled as far as California and New Mexico to paint for schools, churches, and communities in the name of 鈥淵ou Are Loved.鈥�

In December, Cook worked with the Survivor Theatre Project, a Boston-based women鈥檚 group that helps survivors of sexual violence rediscover their voices through performance. There he met people as passionate as he is about art鈥檚 role in healing and inspiring people.

Together with Cook, and using his designs, Survivor Theatre organizers and artists painted colorful murals that illustrated their message of love and understanding.

鈥淭he spiritual quality of Alex鈥檚 work made me reach out to him,鈥� says Karuna O鈥橠onnell, cofounder and touring company manager for Survivor Theatre, herself an artist.

But what made the project stand out, Ms. O鈥橠onnell says, was the experience of creating something together, of sharing space and ideas in a 鈥渜uiet, connected way.鈥�

鈥淭hat touches your heart in an authentic way,鈥� she adds.

For Cook, that collaborative process is 鈥渁s important as putting the paint on the wall.鈥�

As a result, he鈥檚 always on the lookout for new partners and ways to get his message seen and heard: He is currently in talks with Matthew Hoffman, whose Chicago company sells stickers and stamps proclaiming 鈥淵ou are beautiful,鈥� in hopes of sharing their common message farther and louder.

He also just returned from Panajachel, Guatemala, where he collaborated with a school to create the first 鈥淵ou Are Loved鈥� murals outside the US.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a feeling of health, safety, joy that I want people to feel鈥� when they look at these murals, Cook says. 鈥淚 hope that this project could have that effect.鈥�

鈥� To see images of Cook鈥檚 murals, visit .