LEWISTON – Dan Tolman hopes a little paint and a bit of publicity, courtesy of a New York City artist, will make his corner of the city feel more patriotic.

Tolman has invited Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido to paint a mural of a waving flag on the roof of Tolman’s 240 Russell St. office. LoBaido, in the middle of a 50-state flag project, is scheduled to arrive tonight and begin painting Friday.

“You know, we need an infusion of patriotism right now, so we decided to do what we could to get him in here,” Tolman said Wednesday.

He expects the mural to be finished by Monday morning and to be easily visible to traffic on Sabattus Street.

LoBaido comes into Lewiston just past the halfway point in his nationwide project. The roof of Tolman’s office will become the 29th of 50 flags LoBaido is painting across the country.

LoBaido is a New York-based artist noted for surrealistic and politically tinged paintings. He began the project after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast, according to spokesman Mike Richman.

“It’s not about the art but the patriotism,” he said. “When he’s done, the only masterpiece left on the roof is the flag itself.”

Starting in Jacksonville, N.C., in February, LoBaido worked his way West, stopping in each state along the way for a few days. He met Richman in Escondido, Calif., and enlisted his help as a press spokesman and advance organizer for the project.

“It’s a real grassroots thing,” Richman said. “He pretty much comes into town with nothing and leaves with just enough money to get to the next town. Then, he starts all over again.”

So far, he’s painted roofs throughout the South and West and in Hawaii and Alaska. He began heading back East in July, finishing a painting in Burlington, Vt., this week. He moves on to Concord, N.H., next week. He’s scheduled to stop in his hometown, New York City, Sept. 6-15 and plans to finish the project in Arlington, Va., in December.

Tolman and his wife read an Associated Press story about the artist over the July 4 weekend and looked him up on the Internet.

“We sent him an e-mail, told him a little about our community and invited him in,” Tolman said. His roof is steeper than the ones LoBaido usually paints, so Tolman has hired a carpenter to set up a staging area for the work.

Richman said he was surprised at the amount of interest the Lewiston project has generated. Three area hotels, the Ramada in Lewiston and the Hilton Garden Inn and Econo Lodge in Auburn, have donated lodging for the stay and Pat’s Pizza has agreed to provide meals. Sherwin Williams is providing the paint and supplies for the project.

“That’s a lot more going on than we normally get,” Richman said. He usually finds a hotel for LoBaido, who spends a day driving around looking for the perfect roof.

“Then he has to show off his portfolio and convince the owner to let him use his roof,” Richman said. “This is the only one where we’ve had a response like this.”

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