A Portland Map for my Title Company

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone's had a great weekend. Mine was totally packed full - working hard and playing hard. Yesterday, I spent all day mural-ing. Then, drinks with friends and a sublime tribute concert! The best. 

This mural concept began back in October, when I sat over an inch-thick stack of papers, preparing to sign on the dotted line (all of them) to finalize the purchase of my home. I did this through Ticor Title, here in Portland. They were super helpful and awesome, explaining everything patiently. Since the person helping me was looking through my entire financial life, she commented on the fact that I'm a muralist as one of my jobs. She mentioned that Ticor might be interested in a mural, once they moved spaces. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when Ticor reached out to me, hoping I'd still be up for a mural in their new office. STOKED, of course. We went with a big map of Portland neighborhoods for their lobby space. They were excited about a black and white look, with just one color - their branding color of blue, for the rivers running through our city. Their idea is to have homebuyers come in and selfie next to their new neighborhoods, as a marketing strategy. I love that! The even insisted I make note of the fact that I bought my first home with them, directly on the mural, near my signature. It's just such a cool company to want to do something like this. I was really happy to be involved.

The actual act of painting this felt very physical to me. I was totally sweating through this one. I think being on a ladder, and having to keep an extremely steady hand for so long, is what did it. There's not a lot of room for error in an all-typographical mural like this. But I sure liked the meditative quality of making all these damn letters and lines. Super fun, if technically tedious. And also, very different from what I'm usually asked to paint. The graphic designer part of me is at the same time, satisfied and overwhelmed. But overall, I like. More of this, please!

Good night and happy Sunday, friends!

A Hunting Mural for the Whole Fam

Hey everyone!

This mural went in the playroom of a sweet new client family's home. I've come to know them a little bit, and enjoy their energy and their aesthetic. For this mural, they asked for something that would please all of them - the husband, the wife, and the kids. The husband is a hunter, and asked to include an elk with exactly 6 points on his antlers, as well as other elk hunting imagery, like the rubbed off spot on the tree bark (I guess it's a "tell" that elk are near), and the muddy hole/pond that they drink from (or roll in? I forget.) The wife wanted a purple-y moonlit sky. The kids, well, they got a cool thing to look at in their awesome playroom. The owl mural I made a few weeks ago, is on the wall across from this one. We're still going to add at least one of two more little vignettes in this room. Should be a super cool space when it's done. Ahhhhh I just love pacific-northwest-ys and our need for bringing nature into the home, in all the various forms. Maybe that's just a universal thing though, nature. Either way, it makes this tree-hugging muralist happy.