Murals
Palm Greens Cafe
Palm Springs, CA
The mural at the Palm Greens Cafe in Palm Springs California is a perfect example of project management and capturing specific elements the customer wanted and implementing them into a unified piece. The mural consisted of two 17ft. high walls that were each 100ft long that would transform itself from side alley to an open air seating arrangement for customers to enjoy. Below you will see the final design iteration the customer approved. I begin with sketches and with the help of client feedback I capture the design into a well planned accurate depiction and plan for the mural's composition. The visual blueprint helps the customer and I see the project scaled down and see the composition and architectural layout come together.
Plan
Create
Design
Implement
Update
Plan: Working with clients to choose location, budget, purpose of the mural and then going over details such as elements, colors, the environment in which the mural will inhabit, sealant options, type of paint, image incorporation etc..
Create: Creating is the process of taking in all the variables the customer wants and sketching initial concepts and renders to conceptualize the mural's attributes, composition and visual balance. I create a scaled template using site measurements and allow my imagination to have a dialogue with the ideas of the client and create a series of sketches for the next meeting with the client.
Design: After discussing the concept sketches I create the renders and begin formulating the attributes like, sq. footage, color coordination, project timeline, work schedule, hiring assistant(s) if needed, materials budget and writing the work contract for the customer detailing specifics and alleviating them of any work injuries, finalizing design, and basic understanding of agreement for both the customer and my safety and protection.
Implement: Implementing is the preparation and painting of the mural. Preparation is one of the most important parts of creating a mural and consists of taping off to protect existing substrates, sketching out the outline of the design. This process can take anywhere from hours to months and is really dependent on not only the size, intricacy and weather conditions if outside but the needs of the customer. Many murals are created for businesses as well as private homes and patrons and residents inhabit the space so a work schedule is created around the needs of the customer. I make the project the sole most important thing in my life when I create murals and when I work on multiple projects, both clients either understand and agree to a schedule or I commit and loyalty is made to the first project initialized in the contract. I am open and believe communication is the keyu to success so I update the client and hope the client updates me on any developments or changes in project forecast.
Update: Depending of the contractual agreement "Updating" or maintaining may be a part of the agreement between the client and I. The process of updating can be anything from re-sealing the mural, touching up weathered portions or updating names within the work as time progresses and possible correlating content is dynamic in nature although captured during the mural's creation. Change as in life is not only necessary but inevitable and why shouldn't murals? They are thought to be moments or expressions of time captured and expressed creatively in visual form for observers to see, so perhaps murals can change just as we do and reflect ours and other's evolution of technology, culture and art.
*Process murals are a large part of my mural practice and follow a slightly different path than the one described above. Process being the key word here, these murals utilize spontaneity and creative impulse which produces it's own effect. Very often these murals are self-initiated or fall under the vague guidelines of the mural's proprietor and may include only a few guidelines and restrictions. Confines and constraints can create space and a guide for creativity to flow. Creativity can be like a wild animal; chaotic, unpredictable and indeterminable so some constraints even those defined by space, time, budget and limits proposed by myself provide structure and the framework for miraculous creation to take place..
(Palm Greens Mural Cont.)
Chicano Timeline
Coachella Valley, CA
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Chicanos in Vietnam
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Chicanos in World War 1
Girl Meets World
Berkeley, CA
Ariel Vs. Time
Berkeley, CA
Red Bull Mural
Sun God Music Festival
Berkeley, CA
2015 & 2016
Louis Vuitton Mural
Berkeley, CA
Le Corbusier & Jane Jacobs Mural
Berkeley, Ca
Article by the Daily Californian about Artist Chris Van Redman & Video Interview during the painting of the Le Corbusier & Jane Jacobs Mural
Wurster Hall Mural
Berkeley, Ca
ESCAPE
Over 300 Hours spent on the mural "ESCAPE," it originally began as a class project but it grew to be a controversy. Initially granted permission by Faculty the piece took on a life of its own and expanded in all directions. The Mural depicts a symbolic & metaphorical version of the Garden of Eden and this bio-mechanical scene depicts a choice. Like my most of my art a duality is at play; a push and pull, hard and soft, all or nothing kind of force and the balance of forces creates the piece. I felt like when I was painting this particular piece that I was finding a balance by painting a balance. .
