M.U.R.A.L. part II

April 07, 2014

(in the past, I wrote that post about how I would write this post in the future...welcome to the future)

This project was an exploration of hand-lettering, type design, mural design, and new media.

One of the challenges of learning to be a muralist is practice. Obviously any painting practice is very valuable, but actual mural practice can be tricky. This project offered some good exercise in responding to an environment, without the huge commitment of a real mural.

The front of each tile has a letter of the word 'mural' painted in acrylic.

The back of each tile has a photo of a place where you might expect to find a mural: a home, the side of a building, an alley, another home, and a playground (respectively.) I printed the photos out on regular paper, then transferred to the MDF surface via wet gloss medium. As the medium dried, it retained the ink from the paper, and I could scrub the paper off the now-hard surface.

On top of the photographs, I painted a miniature 'mural' suitable for the space.

I love playing with typography, display, the concept of 'mural'..... I love this project. Something about these mini/faux murals is really fun for me, and I want to figure out a way to incorporate them into other projects.

I wonder if anyone would be interested in custom versions? Their initial and a mini-mural on a picture of somewhere special to them?

I displayed these at the VCU Senior Show last year (the "A" found a new home with some friends.) It was quite a trick to get them lined up as a word and leave both sides visible, but we figured it out just in time.

Explosion at the Haircut Factory!

April 01, 2014

People always want to know how much a mural costs - it's certainly one of the first questions I would ask of myself as well. I do my best to explain every time, but the final answer is 'it depends.' Size and complexity (and location) are the key ingredients to an estimate.... which can be a really good thing for someone with a big wall and a budget.

A mural can have a big impact on a space even if it's done with a quickness, as long as I keep it simple. As of last week, I finally have a great example of this to show off!

In this case, my friend Ellen Hall agreed to do a swap with me - this mural cost two haircuts and a little bit of promo (can you spot the new HerrSuite poster on the wall in the panorama picture?) - and took about 6 hours total, including planning, setup, and cleanup.

After moving the salon mirror back in place.

I used colors from the other large painted items in the room - a mustard colored vinyl chair in the corner, the blue painted doors - with a couple other bright, warm colors. Ellen's new bright bouquet living behind the mirror should be a conversation starter and cheerful addition to her clients' haircut ~experience~

Reference the Beautiful Earth

March 25, 2014

Hello! Today I want to show you some of my reference picture collection and talk about reference photography just a little bit. Every once in a while I'll make a post like this and share a few of my pictures - I've got kind of a stockpile. These are from a week I spent with a point-and-shoot camera in Doha, Qatar on a student exchange in my freshman year at VCU.

I've saved pictures on my laptop for years and for lots of reasons, and I'm starting to really appreciate the folders and folders of images I now have. Many belong to other people, gleaned from the internet, but a vast minority of them belong to me, so I can use them freely.

Building up the habit of photography is a nice double-sided thing where I get to freely use references that I'm familiar with, as well as practice at a good skill.

I'm 1000% more comfortable working directly from reference pictures than not, but often really uncomfortable about using anyone else's photos. It's far too easy to abuse other peoples' hard work, and often complicated to credit or pay them properly.

When the stars align and I can either photograph the subject I need, or I already have pictures of it, I can sidestep the whole mess of using other people's work.

That's it for this week - if all goes well I'm going to be updating the blog once a week, instead of just when I finish a big project. Keep a lookout- subscribe via email (below) or like the facebook page!