I spent the last week in Charleston, WV working with Ian Bode on our newest collaborative mural âDonât Tell Me This Town Ainât Got No Heartâ. Based on the nightlife of Capitol Street, and Charleston in general, itâs meant as a celebration of the state capitolâs downtown culture. It was an incredible week of painting furiously, drinking heartily, and eating like a king.
The design for this project started as a bunch of sketches on separate pieces of paper in Charleston and Morgantown, with a rough background that Ian had put together. These various illustrations were brought together on a template based on the measurements of the building, and I put the elements in their places. It bounced back and forth a couple of times, and then it was finalized, pretty much the night before I was due to head down and get to work.
We projected that final black and white design on the back of Samâs Uptown Cafe from about 50 feet away, sizing it up to match the wall - and grabbed some massive sharpies to trace in the design. The fact that the projector, which was in a busy Saturday-night parking lot wasnât even bumped, was near miraculous.Â
We worked for a week painting, adding new personalized details to the mural (the blue unicorn was requested by the ownerâs daughter) and generally sweating our asses off and/or getting soaked by the rain. It was all pretty awesome. Ian will finish up the tiny details, get the door designs done, and get the graffiti-proof coating on the wall. Iâm truly lucky to have such a good friend and collaborator to work with. Thanks to everyone involved for a fantastic week of making some art.Â
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