Field Notes: The Mural

While the "Color Rush" side of the Natural Remedy series has had its fair share of attention, a slightly different take on the concept flew a bit under the radar, got left out of the first showing, and never grew beyond the initial attempt at the idea. I think the first one (seen below) turned out great but it's a pretty time-consuming  approach and, while I intend to expand this approach to the series, I hadn't quite found the time up to this point. 

Despite a few early  rejections, I didn't have to wait too long for an opportunity to present itself. 

The New Fashioned is a brand new spot down in the Deer District owned by a couple of the most active entrepreneurs in Milwaukee's bar scene. Responsible for places like Splash Studio, AXE MKE, Amped, and 9 Below (amongst others), to say I was honored and excited to get this wall is a bit of an understatement. I know the owners through my past employment at Splash (proudly one of the original artist/teachers/presenters) and was overjoyed to get another shot at being involved in their ever-growing and impressive collection of bar-related businesses. 

A tough thing about murals, for me, is that they tend to (for obvious reasons) be a bit more on the commercial side of things. Most people aren't looking to be challenged by a mural in the same way as they may expect it in the gallery setting and most business owners don't want to bring in potentially controversial or unpleasant imagery into their space (again, for obvious reasons). As the artist I understand this...but also have wanted to stay true to the art I want to create. I would love to do a big cartoon or illustration (and have submitted a number of them) but my passion lies with painting and my style is my style for a reason...it's what I prefer to do, what comes naturally, and ultimately what I'd prefer to get attention for. 

Natural Remedy has proven to be my most popular series so far and Field Notes (or the grid concept) seems like a perfect inspiration for a variety of subjects ideal for public display. Drinks, food, flowers, animals; Anything and everything can be organized in a grid and, at least with my style, seems to lend itself to a fun, energetic, colorful and playful composition. Further, in the instance of The New Fashioned, it presented me with the perfect pitch for a new bar looking to catch peoples eyes, support local art, and add something completely unique to their setting. Almost like a visual menu, the drink grid presents around 90 individual paintings of various drinks and their ingredients, altogether creating an expansive visual representation of the bar and, individually, providing small moments of joy and pause for passersby as they make their way to the next attraction.

Like 100 little Matissian still lives, each square has its own life and personality. Keep an eye out as I finish working on this mural over the next week or two and make sure to get down to the New Fashioned ASAP to check out all the games and offerings they've got!