Five of My Favorite "Challenging" Murals

 

The Outdoor Challenge

 

I enjoyed tackling this Bulldog on the side of a stadium for two challenging reasons, first it was about 100 degrees outside, my sweat was sweating... second reason, while 80% done a huge storm came rolling in quickly, while I was dangling over the side the raindrops started to fall, I never painted so fast. I completed it successfully amidst the trials of being outdoors in a South Dakota summer. I earned my paycheck on this one.

 

The Iconic Image Challenge

 

I am a history buff (ask my wife). I am one of those guys who will drive two hours out of my way to experience a moment in history - to stand in the spot where "such" and "such" happened. These images were created from famous iconic images of Martin Luther King, Susan B. Anthony (remember the coinage), Teddy Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Einstein and Abraham Lincoln, they were for a school that wanted them posted on certain named hallways. It was fun to do these portraits but the challenge was to do them so that everyone would know who they are instantly.

 

The Simplicity Challenge

 

Sometimes simplicity is always the best and I think that is why the look and style of this image I created for a school that wanted a movable cutout mural worked well. I especially like the way the cub is looking at you - my daughter wanted me to buy her one after I painted this.

 

The "Too Scary" Challenge

 

On the flip side I love how this guy looks menacing and ferocious. I remember telling the principal of the elementary school when I designed it that I thought it may scare the younger ones and I should tone it down some - make it a little more cuddly. She didn't want that. So we went with the prowling panther. The black and purple really jumped on this image and with the rest of the colors in the gym brought the blank wall space to life.

 

The Weird Wall Challenge

 

I really like to do murals in out of the way places. This one was tucked nicely into a little sitting area that needed some energy. I also remember the wall was a coarse brick, very weird texture, and getting the image on was challenging. The lines kept squiggling here and there.

Medary Bobcats in Brookings

 Day one Day two
 Day three Day four

Pick the right design to replicate

Picking the right image is important. This design I created for an elementary school near Sioux City utilized the design to also work on t-shirts, mugs, folders, etc. I always try to encourage schools to keep it simple and replicable onto other items. Each mural I do I give them an original black and white and color to have on file for other uses.

Latest Wall Painting Mural

This sits in the office of a family home. They saw me do some live worship art and liked both the style and look I create when I do that. So, I put together a face of Christ for them as a personal commission.

Why Mural Garage as a name?

Well, I happen to do a lot of my touch up work and all of the cutouts in my Garage - hence the name Mural Garage for this site. My wife and kids just love it when I take over the Garage with all of my art stuff and you can't pull the vehicle or bikes in. Some of my most creative moments have happened in my garage.

Helping Haiti

 I have been able to travel to Haiti twice to help with Children of the Promise, an orphanage in the Cap Haitien community. On the last trip I was able to put my art skills to work and help create some murals for the orphanage. It was very cool and of course you fall in love with the kids when you are there. We have it good in America and even the simplest gestures go a long ways there. This was just the initial sketches on a cement wall. The kids wanted a jungle scene with cute animals. I wasn't able to complete all of it - but we got close.

Helping a Local Charity

This was a volunteer project I did for a local charity that helps children reconnect with parents when their has been some struggles in the home. These cut-out murals will go into one of the rooms that parents and children use to reconnect in, usually with supervision. It's a tough thing to see happen in homes, but glad there are organizations that help with this and seek to bring unity back to the family. Adding some energy and color to the otherwise drab walls can lift spirits and kids love balloons and hang gliders.

Life Size Lebron and Kobe Cutout Murals

We have some friends who have boys who love NBA basketball. Interestingly they root for opposing teams - at the time I did this, one of their sons loved the Lakers and Kobe and the other loved Cleveland and LeBron. Shortly after I did this painting LeBron made the move to Miami. Well, little touch of nostalgia. I could always come in and repaint the uniform. They hung these in their sons rooms and painted the room the colors of the teams they love.

Wildcats Mural above the Court

 

 

This was the first large mural I ever did for a gymnasium at a High School. I was relieved that they had access to a lift, that makes the work that much easier and quicker to accomplish. When I go to a school I always ask to either have a scaffolding or lift ready to go before I arrive. Preferably a safe scaffolding and safe lift. If I have to rent either it makes the cost go up considerably.

 

Cut-out Mural for Terry Redlin School

 

 

When completed this mural was hung in the schools cafeteria area. It required three 4x8 sheets of plywood and some custodians who knew how to hang it with care.

Pheasants Mural

 

 

Here is what I remember about doing this mural. They had basketball practice going strong while I was painting and the coach was jokingly upset at times because the players would often glance over at me hanging from a ladder and find more enjoyment in watching it develop than run the drills. Got a little nervous when a ball came careening my way and slammed into the ladder while I was on the top. All good, I hung in there. A mural of this size usually takes 2 to 3 days to complete.

Live Mural at Central Baptist

I find great joy in painting live for a worship experience. On this one I actually fell off a riser by mistake, it was dark and I took a misstep with paint in hand. Luckily it fell on me and not the painting or riser. I usually ask for an honorarium for opportunities like this and of course the church keeps the painting to hang in the building somewhere.

Tigers Mural at Journey Elementary

Raiders Mural

The principal of the school decided to pose with his son following the completion of the mural. Like other murals I often paint them while a gym class or practice is going on. They had gym class all day while I did this mural and many students seemed to rather talk to me and ask questions about my art rather than running laps.

Couple More Murals at Lowell Elementary

 

 



Lifts are awesome to have

Lifts are great on your back and arms. Mot too mention great fun to navigate on. Many folks are not fans of the heights - I have grown to enjoy the views one gets on top of gyms. I can tell you that they don't dust very often in the rafters.

Character Counts Cut-out Murals

 

Entrances to Kids Areas in Churches

Lowell Bulldog

 

Murals for a Girl's Room

For my daughters room...

Panthers Mural in North Sioux City

Touching up the details

Strange Request

We had some friends who moved down to Florida a number of years ago and their High School son asked if I could sketch out Superman on his favorite pair of jeans before they departed. Strange, but okay. I used permanent markers of course and encouraged him never to wash them for fear of fading. I have no idea if there is a market out there for drawing stuff like this on clothing - but it was fun to do. I have thought about tackling shoes.

Finishing touches

Coming to the close a finished piece is always an awesome feeling. This was a mural for a backdrop of a stage area of an elementary school. It was one of the first I ever did and they wanted it to be both diverse and cartoony.