JUST ROLL WITH IT:
From Mock-up to Mural
In 2020, I had found a new artistic goal to challenge myself with: paint a large scale mural.
I had no idea where to even start but was really inspired by artist Lauren Hom (http://homsweethom.com) who often paints murals and even launched a class teaching her methods. Lauren hosted a design contest on Instagram where anyone could create a mural mockup and the price would be a seat in her mural painting class. This was my sign to take action towards making my dream a reality.
I wanted to create a design related to one of my new found hobbies: roller skating.
Brainstorming begun with a dream client, a catchy phrase, and use of my signature palette: beacon blue, warm yellow, bubblegum pink, and cyan.
I wanted this design to be bright and cheerful, highly inspired by the 70’s roller skate scene.
The next step was to create the mock-up of my mural with the design I had just created. I used a photo I posed in front of an existing mural and with some Photoshop work, this was the result!
Once the mock-up was ready, I shared it on my Instagram account. I tagged Lauren, my dream client Radar Wheels, and a mural spot called Off the Wall located in Nashville, TN where I lived at the time.
Unfortunately, I didn’t win the competition. But on the other side, so much good came out of this post:
Lauren kindly gave me a discount to take her mural painting class, which I purchased in a heartbeat.
Radar Wheels offered a license term for this design to turn them into stickers for their customers! Hundreds of people would rock this design on their helmets, water bottles, whatever surface of choice!
Tinsley, who curates Off the Wall, offered me a spot at Off the Wall, granting me the opportunity to paint my first large scale mural!
Mural mock-up design created for the Instagram contest.
Radar Wheels announcing the sticker giveaway.
In December 2020, my dream became a reality in a matter of months!
I had to change the format of the design to adapt to the wall I picked which was a quick and easy fix.
Furthermore, this would all not have been possible without the support of my friends, my family, Whitney Heritage for helping me gather the supplies needed for the mural, Lauren Hom, Tinsley Dempsey, Stephen Larios, and the folks at Radar Wheels! My heart is forever grateful to all of you!
I would also like to extend my gratitude to the friends who helped me paint this mural: Upreyl Mitchell, Serena Yetter, Kat Price, Courtney Moore, Jeff Haendiges, and Heather Godwin. Thank you all for helping make the dream come true!
“Just Roll With It” was such a hit, I was able to turn this design in to prints and stickers. All profits were used to cover the costs of the mural alongside donations from friends and family.
Additionally, I reached out to a local skate shop Asphalt Beach Skate to sell my stickers to gather funds for the mural. The owner Stephen offered to sponsor the costs of the mural!
Photo credit to Photojournalist Ray Di Pietro
