My First Public Mural!
Ever since I was little, it has been a dream of mine to paint a mural. When I was around 13, I painted my first interior mural in my dad’s office in the Philippines. It was inspired by his printing business where they make labels for different companies like clothing stores. At 13, I felt very proud of myself and seeing my illustrations on a wall was a momentous thing.
Fast forward to this year – almost 11 years later – I painted my first public mural in Vancouver! Over the past few months, I met with 5 local artists and muralists to learn more about their practice and how they got to where they were. They shared amazing resources, helpful tips and tricks, pricing models, and one artist even allowed me to volunteer on-site for her ongoing mural project. I was hopeful that maybe someone out there would be willing to let me paint on their wall for free as long as they could help fund the material costs. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would actually be painting a mural this year.
A few weeks after meeting the 5th muralist, my friend sent me an Instagram story from a café looking for an artist to donate a mural. It felt like an answered prayer and I felt incredibly excited to reach out to the East Café. The mission behind this mural project is to provide a backdrop to the Cafe’s City Smiles program, where they host an open mic night every Thursday to help raise funds to feed low-income folks a free meal or drink. When I first met with Josh Kim, the café owner, I knew immediately that this project was a great fit for me. He seemed so genuine and passionate about making the café into a space where all people felt welcomed and seen. I remember walking into the café for the first time: it felt like a reprieve from the noise of the city, a sanctuary for anyone and everyone, and the café was filled with the comfort of your own living room.
Behind the Scenes
Here are some snippets from my sketchbook during my brainstorming and ideating phase. I took some time to immerse myself in the café to get a sense of the place, taking pictures and sketching ideas. I also met up with one of the baristas (who happens to be my friend!) to learn more about the culture of the customers and community who frequent the café. Whenever I start a new project, I try to work with pen and paper; creating a mind map and sketching out rough ideas to help me better understand the bigger picture of what I’m trying to express through my illustrations.
the Final sketch!
3 Things I’ve learned in Creating My First Exterior Mural:
Muralists make painting murals look easy! One of the muralists I met with made a joke that when she meets other artists, she tells them not to become a muralist. I didn’t expect how much of a physical toll painting a mural would take on my body. From bending backwards into awkward positions to get that one spot under that pipe, to pushing your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders to work every day, painting a mural can be quite exhausting. It’s important to take into consideration the location of your mural, if it’s exterior or interior, and to make sure you’re taking steady breaks to allow your body to recover.
The texture of a wall makes a huge difference! Painting on stucco is not for the faint of heart and it takes a lot of patience and attention to detail to make sure you cover all of the nooks and crannies that a stucco wall presents. This applies to all different kinds of surfaces as well, meaning it’s important to consider the ingredients in your paint, the way the mural surface will interact with weather and how to make sure your work endures.
I am willing to pursue and am capable of achieving the things I want to in this life. This year has been a year of answered prayers, including this mural project. At the time of writing this blog, I’ve actually secured a SECOND mural, and I feel incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities that have come my way. The things I thought were impossible are actually not that far away from my reach. Taking small steps towards my dreams has proven to be such a fulfilling process of learning about myself and my art practice. I truly believe there is so much more to come and I can’t wait to see it all unfold!
“I am willing to pursue and am capable of achieving the things I want to in this life. ”
This project would not have been possible without my partner, Mani. Words can’t fully describe my gratitude towards this man. I’ve never experienced support in the way he’s shown it to me; from encouraging me to follow my passions, to expressing encouraging words, to painting with me almost every single day, to picking up food, to helping me plan and shoot social media content, he has been my rock throughout this entire process. And because of his integral role, I wanted to include his take on this project.
What's one of your favourite moments and one of your most challenging moments throughout this mural project? (Mani's perspective)One of my favourite moments, was seeing you adding in the face details for the characters in the mural. When those details were added, the mural started to come to life and I totally understood the story you were trying to tell.
One of the most challenging moments was calling it quits on one of the first long days even though I wanted to keep painting. Near the end of the day I didn't have the focus or patience to paint the intricate parts of the mural that I was working on, so I forced myself to start cleaning up to prevent myself from making any major painting mistakes.
This mural will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have created something for a community who so deeply appreciates the gift of creativity and I’m thankful for the ways the project allowed me to grow. I’m thankful for the memories it leaves me with and for the gift of seeing my work at such a large scale.
Until the next project,
Fy
