The American Legion Hall on Bucks Hollow Road in Mahopac got a much-needed facelift just in time for Veterans Day thanks to local artist Angie Kortlang, who, when not being a barber and a mother to a 1-year-old, is renowned for her vivid murals and sidewalk art.
The hall got a fresh coat of paint and then Kortlang restored an old eagle mural that was painted decades ago and had become cracked and faded. Then she created her own mural that features a POW theme.
Kortlang was born in Cooperstown, N.Y., but moved to Mahopac when she was in sixth grade. Her mom is a special-ed teacher at Mahopac Middle School.
Kortlang used to be an art teacher for the town’s Recreation and Parks Department and would paint holiday-themed murals on the windows of the Recreation office building during Christmastime.
During the COVID pandemic, when everyone was social distancing, she did sidewalk art, painting games so that children could get outside and play but remain safely 6 feet apart.
“We did it at Sycamore Park and then the PTO asked me to do some at Austin Road Elementary, and I did Lakeview and [schools in] Yorktown as well,” Kortlang said. “I drew games on the playgrounds with permanent paint and most of them are still there. Hopscotch, walk the plank with sharks, things like that. It was all measured out so they could be 6 feet apart. But it was great because the kids could get out of the classroom, go outside and get fresh air.”
Kortlang said she discovered she had a penchant for drawing when she was very young and by the time she got to high school, the teachers began to notice that she was more advanced than the other students.
“They asked me to join AP art classes and I had to put together a portfolio,” she recalled.
Kortlang went on to attend art school where she studied studio art—drawing and painting.
“I loved it but eventually had to go to work and get on with my life,” she said.
But despite being relegated to mainstream jobs, Kortlang continued to find her artistic ambitions creeping in.
“Every place I’ve worked at since [art school], I’ve convinced them to let me paint the windows,” she laughed. “I once worked for a beer distributor, and they let me do it.”
Eventually, Kortlang went to Paul Mitchell Beauty School to study cosmetology and went on to begin her own business cutting men’s hair.
“Cutting hair is an art form—it is just a different medium for me,” she said. “It’s like sculpting.”
But Kortlang was especially excited to get the gig painting the murals on the Legion Hall because it is her first job since she had her baby more than a year ago.
Kortlang explained that a good friend from high school’s late father had been very active in the Mahopac Legion, and he had passed away a couple of years ago.
“They introduced me to the Legion,” she said. “We ended up having our christening at the hall and then had my baby’s first birthday party there.
“After my friend’s dad passed away, they wanted to redo the building and they asked me, and I couldn’t have been happier to do it,” Kortlang continued. “I finished it just in time for Veterans Day. I said I wasn’t leaving until I finished it. They were having a big Veterans Day party, so it was perfect timing.”
Her first job at the Legion Hall was actually to restore the image of an American eagle that had been painted more than 20 years ago.
“The woman who painted it had passed away and they wanted to keep her idea alive,” Kortlang said. “I tried to make it look like hers, but it also got a little love from me.”
For the second mural, the Legionnaires told Kortlang that they wanted it to include a POW flag, but beyond that, she could use her own imagination.
“They said I could make it my own,” she said. “This is sacred to them, so I tried to make [the style] match the other mural of the eagle.”
These days, Kortlang said she is just prioritizing being a mom, but her brushes are always at the ready for when someone is looking to make a big artistic statement.
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