Forestry Court Apartments Mural

Hi everyone!

In my mission to post about a backlog of projects, today I'm sharing a very Northwest-y mural. This project came about when I was asked to paint something on the walls of an apartment building's lobby. This building is located in Northwest Portland, close to Forest Park - a lush backdrop of forest covered hills over the city's west side. The name of the apartments - Forestry Court - and it's proximity to actual forest, inspired a pretty obvious choice for the mural's imagery. The lobby is fairly dim, with little natural light, so I knew that I wanted to infuse a bit of "daylight" into the mural. A whole lot of Indian Yellow helped me create an illusion of that magic "golden hour" feel. It's that time of day when the sun is getting ready to start setting, and there are long shadows on the ground, and everything turns, well, golden. We knew we wanted to cover all of the available walls in the room, which was one large and prominent wall, plus two tall and narrow walls to the sides. Though there were hallways cutting through between the walls, I wanted them all to work together to create one cohesive piece. Then, the viewer's imagination could then fill the empty spaces between. 

I always enjoy the challenge of making it look like light is shining through the leaves on a tree. That almost-neon green that is formed by a back-lit leaf is so juicy and bright to look at in the natural world. Hard to capture in a painting, but worth trying. 

Once the main walls were done, I waited for a warmer day to paint some areas in the outside entryway. I figured just some greenery would help beautify the empty spaces in the tiling, and serve as a preview to what you'll see when you enter the building. 

I remember painting this in such a "flow" state - almost a trance. Nature is something I'm pretty darn used to painting by now, so it doesn't require a whole lot of thought - at least not conscious thought. When painting this kind of subject matter, what it really requires of me, is to turn off my conscious thought process, and just let my hands do their thing. It's projects like this, when I will listen to podcasts and audiobooks, to keep my mind occupied while my hands do the work. More complicated projects require more thinking (architectural or geometric work is like this). Does this make sense? It's just one of those things I've come to learn and nurture about the way my brain works.

This project totally inspired me to paint something like this in my home. I want a forest wall! Or door, or garage door, or kitchen. My house only has one mural so far - another project on the list to share. More to come!

Hope you enjoy the pictures and video of this fun forest-y mural!

Summer/Fall Reflection Time

Hi everyone!

Get ready for loooong, end-of-season reflection time!

Mural work seems to come in waves. The winter time, especially right after the holidays, can be a slow time for business. With the return of the sunshine in Spring, people start to think about home/business improvement again, and my business picks up. Outdoor murals are also much more feasible during this time, given Portland’s wet weather. It’s been a busy warm season for me, for sure. But I definitely played as hard as I worked. I got outside a lot, and made some awesome Summer memories with friends, family and my love.

We’re right in the middle of that transition between Summer and Fall. This time of year, I always start to mourn Summer a little bit. I am absolutely a sun child and like the heat and all that it brings. The Fall is always my consolation prize for Summer ending though. Fall brings us Halloweeeen, which is magical and I adore. For me, Fall is also a time to turn inwards a bit more. Literally, I stay inside more, and also, I find that the weather makes me tune into my inner self more - it’s time to get to work. I have a few projects coming up that I’m super excited about - indoor wall, small commission painting, and one or two straggler outdoor walls that I hope can get finalized before the rain comes full force. They’re all different and will make for a fun Fall lineup of jobs. I’m realizing one thing though: I have neglected to make art for myself just for my own enjoyment, for a long time. I’ve been hustling hard, and playing in the sunshine the rest of the time. This Fall, I’m going to commit to doing some work simply to feed my own creative drive. I’m looking forward to spending some of the rainier days to come, settling in to paint. For me.

Friends, I want to tell you something SO BAD, but it feels jinx-y to announce fully just yet. So I'll just be vague (sorrynotsorry). I have been doing this work for a long time, sometimes making literally no money from projects (super rarely now tho, thankfully), and sometimes making the kind of bank I could never have imagined years ago. I have been doing this work - painting walls for money - for 13 years now. Doing exactly what I love has allowed me now, to buy myself a house. This is a ridiculous sentence for me to read back. While I’m not completely out of the woods in achieving that goal, I am staring the end of the long process in the face, and hoping for the best. The home-buying journey is an incredibly fast-paced one, especially in Portland’s market. With some time to breathe now, I’m feeling some space to reflect.

Painting is the work that makes me feel the most like myself. It is my favorite thing to do alone. It is the activity I missed most, when I was in the Peace Corps in Madagascar and away from pretty much every aspect of what makes up my life in America. It is also part of my job. It’s sometimes super weird that those 2 things combine - passion and money - but for me, most of the time, that combination is wonderful and fulfilling. Is it awkward sometimes to ask for money for what I enjoy doing? Yes. But then I remind myself that I spent a long time in school (and out), training for this. And a lot of people love their jobs, and also get paid for them. It’s such a blessing. I just want to thank all of you reading, who has ever been my client. I wish I would have kept track of every single person who has ever commissioned me for something. But I do know there are some of you out there who have, who are reading. If that is you, THANK YOU. You, plus all the others, are who have allowed me to even consider this gigantic goal. Thank you thank you thank you, and I love you all.

…New mural sketch below, cuz you don’t come for the babbles, right? ;)