Doggie Daycare Mural

Hi everyone, 

First off, big thank you to my close friends in real life who might be reading this (hey guys!) and reached out to support me through the thing that was/is going on in my life (see my last post). It's been a rough one, and I'm lucky to have my friends and family, who I know I can lean on, always. 

This is the mural I mentioned that I was working on in my last post. This mural came about when I donated my services to an annual fundraising auction that's held at my work. I donated an 8'x10' mural, and the highest bidder ended up being the owner of a small chain of doggie daycares around my area. I was super stoked to do this because it sounded like a really fun project (dogs, non-realistic/whimsical style....dogs) and it would mean more of my work in public places. I always like that :) The wall ended up being double the size that I had donated, so I did end up making some cash while also raising some for my workplace. Win-win, I tell you! Now let me tell you the warm/fuzzy part of this whole deal. The largest dog on the right hand side (not the 2 playing in the distance, but next to them), was the deceased dog of the owner. The manager of this place was the person I was working closely with on the design, and so she surprised the owner by having me paint his pup (R.I.P.). Super sweet. The rest of the dogs are inspired by pictures that she gave me of other employee's own dogs. Love that what started as just a way to brighten up a boring wall of their business, turned into something so personal for all the people who work there. Was really happy to be a part of this one. :)

Before dogs!

Dogs watching me....always watching...and barking...

Perspective

Well, I wasn't feeling like blogging this week, but we are at 12:01am and I can't sleep. It's been a really heavy week. I found out that one of my best friends and roomate in college passed away under terribly tragic and mysterious circumstances. This isn't the place for sharing her, or our, full stories. But after the numbness and shock wore off, her death has brought up so many emotions. I took a day to read old notes, look through pictures, obsess over the news, and just feel what I needed to feel. I wrote her a letter, and went into nature. Then, what I knew I needed to do, was get a brush into my hands. I guess I'll bring it back around to what this blog is supposed to be about: my art-y adventures. 

I was painting this mural today, listening to some music that she loved when I knew her: The Postal Service, Nine Inch Nails, and that one Against Me song that she knew every word to, and sang it enough times that eventually so did I. I was thinking about her life cut short before she could do, and be, so many things. Tragedies always make people recognize what they have and should be grateful for. I am grateful to live somewhere that I can be free. I am living a life that makes me happy. I have this crazy art habit that feels like popping happy pills. Or, at least brings me inner peace when I'm going through something hard. That is what I am grateful for today. For this confusing, wonderful, complex, colorful, beautiful but sometimes tragic, life. 

Operation "Nighty Night"

Happy weekend everyone!

Today I'm taking a day off, but tomorrow I'll start a new mural project. More about that later. For now though, let me catch you up on what I did LAST weekend!

My client for my last project was significantly shorter and cuter than most. This first picture is our initial consultation and brainstorm. It involved lots of mention of rainbows and fairies. Let me give you the backstory: 

Cutie sees house fire...... gets scared of fires...... associates smoke alarm in her room with fire and "scary"...... fear-of-fire fueled insomnia and general bad-dreaminess occurs...... parents need solution!

So her parents had her sign an agreement that if she could have good sleeping behavior for each day leading up to Chanukah, they would hire me to come paint her ceiling as a Chanukah present! My job was to turn that general smoke alarm area into a happy thing to look at, rather than scary. Hence, "Operation Nighty Night" was born. I die from cute. 

What I really appreciated about this job, was that the parents let their daughter make the decisions about her ceiling mural. It was all about what was going to help her sleep, and make her room a safe and happy place to be in. Kids have beautifully wild and uninhibited imaginations. When adults can recognize and embrace that, rather than stifle it, amazing adult/child collaborations can happen. Take a look at how we made ours:

Client Meeting! The kiddo and I talking over her ideas and making a concept sketch!

Concept sketch presented to me: That bullseye to the lower right? The smoke detector - soon to be surrounded in rainbow!

My interpretation of her sketch: A little photoshop and it's ready to present back to my client! She approves. 

Going for it! Ouch, my neck. 

End result!

Happy client right there. Happy Muralist too :)

We even got her into the action: Brother, sister, and their friend all got to paint the silver raindrops!

That was probably the cutest thing to happen to Talking Walls Murals, maybe ever. :)