Trax Line

Between the end of the first, and the beginning of the second mural last fall, I had the opportunity to repair some previous murals. Taggers really went crazy with alot of the murals on the light rail line in South Salt Lake. Some "new" graffiti artists from San Fransisco have emerged in Utah. Their calling card? A five gallon bucket of white paint and rollers. Objective? White out as much of the mural as possible before getting caught. I guess that you could say they are from the minimalist school of graffiti thought. Anyway, the amount of spray paint used on the second mural probably could of painted all of the shopping carts at your local Wal-mart superstore. The small group of us were able to prime and restore two large scale murals in one day (one of the murals was over 140 feet long). We also had to wave at the train drivers every time they went by, every 5-7 minutes. We got creative by the time we were finished, YMCA, the Wave, you get the idea. In the end I think we helped take back the neighborhood, and our art. I heard the the city is now getting the graffiti off the murals within 24 hours. I would be complacent if I failed to mention the sexy neon green vests.

Columbus Center

So, after some hurdles, the latest mural is done. This was really my baby, for better or worse, as I co- authored and painted the design that was chosen. Not only did I have the regular issues that come about, but all the extra work. The original design did not have the sky going up to the 28 foot ceiling, but the building director and mayor asked if I could adjust the plan to cover the whole wall. I can't even say no to Mayor McCheese, let alone a real public official. So with the addition of the upper half of the wall, the grids, and drawings that had to be done, the deadline was going to be tight. A few of the students apparently thought "manual labor" was a Puerto Rican president, which made our time restraint even harder, as I found out. I was basically in charge of overseeing the project, which I'm sure will serve useful in the future (as will my minor in scissor-lifting). With 14 people working on a project it always turns out a little different than the original, but we picked up the pace and finished it, with only a few hours over deadline. The people in the community were very supportive and all had positive comments. My professor also said that it is the best that has been done by the students so far. My thanks to Peter and Alex who stayed with me for 3 hours after class to finish the sky.

The Great Plains of South Salt Lake
Columbus Center gym, South Salt Lake, Ut
November to December 2009
(team of 14)

Primary Mural

If life imitates art, then it's a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear. Projects never go quite as planned, and this was no exception. The title of this piece should be called "Make it Lighter!" I won't go into to much detail, but one of the hospital staff stood in the doorway with arms folded looking like a California Condor, just waiting to say "make it lighter, make it lighter" for the majority of the time. I was also given charge of drawing and painting a monkey on the fly. Luckily, I pulled from my high school repertoire (who knew the stoned monkeys I drew in English class would pay off). I think I painted the sail 5 times, I finally used pure white and they still wanted it lighter, to which I said, "I'm given er' all I can cap'n, I canna make it any lighter!" Most everyone laughed, the Condor, however, did not. It was alot of work helping students with the process and working with various bumps, but it turned out nice. When we were leaving I suggested that if they still needed it lighter i could install some spotlights. I wished I would have thought of that at the beginning.

Primary Children's Medical Center
Department of Gastroenterology
September to October 2009
(team of 12)

Year in review

I should have started a blog in 2005 back when I started Art school. However, if if's and but's were candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas as they say. Who "they" are, I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure "they" are employed by Hallmark. I'll post some notable projects from the start of 2009 to the present. They also say, there is no time like the present to present the present (I thank God I didn't have to learn English as a second language). Let the blogging begin.

Ziji production, 60th anniversary of the school of fine arts, University of Utah.
Set design and painting. January to March 2009.
(7 person team)

South Salt Lake Mural, Columbus Center.
Harvesting Stories. 42' L x 8 1/2" W
March to May 2009
(7 person team)

Underpainting

Final Piece


Cherry Hill Amusement Park
Kaysville, Utah
May to August 2009
Double Dragon attraction:
castles, fins, scales, spots, and sword in the stone
(individual)

Beginning
Finished