Come Dance With Me!
Please join me on Saturday, October 8 th for the grand opening of my show at Avalon Art and Yoga Center! The reception will start at 8 PM, and dancing at 9 PM. Avalon is located at 370 S. California Avenue in Palo Alto. I have created a new series of local landscapes that will be “unveiled” at the show. These landscapes are the basis for a new line of custom mural wallpapers I am creating, which will also be on display.
Stanford Dish Enrance 4′ x 8′ acrylic on panel
Frequent Flyer Clients
I was looking over my calendar last month and realized about half of my scheduled projects were from repeat clients. Murals are a big investment, and it might seem like a unique, once in a lifetime thing. What was going on?
First of all, I take it as a huge compliment that someone can live with my art for many years, and enjoy the artwork and experience enough to want to work with me again. But I think it is part of a bigger phenomenon: people who have lived with mural art that is specific for them, and specific for their space, can best appreciate how custom art celebrates their interests and makes their space feel special.
Right now I am working at Juana Briones Elementary School, where 4 years ago I painted a 100 foot long mural depicting native Palo Alto landscape and featured the schools namesake, Juana Briones in the mural. From the ripples that come back to me, I know the mural is enjoyed, by the students, teachers, parents and neighbors. The mural is relevant – it is the school’s native environment, the kids study California history and I include many animal and plant species that come up in science and social studies lessons. The other side of the school, the “primary wing” where I am working now, boasts beautfiul raised beds for vegetables, fruit trees, shade trees, and benches. But because they can compare the primary wing to the other side of the school, the side with the mural, they can tangibly sense the dramatic difference a mural would make as a backdrop. So, they have fundraised. Parents, neighbors, and teachers are all contributing independently. They are contributing because they enjoy and appreciate the art that is already making a difference in the school environment, and they know that custom artwork will transform their “primary wing” as well. I look forward to sharing the images from this project with you in next months newsletter!
A Room with a New View
Last month I had the privilege of painting for a repeat client in Los Angeles, Carol Kreitz. About 4 years ago, Carol hired me to paint a 4′ x 7′ painting of her siblings as children, on the beach building a sandcastle. Her parents were touched seeing the happy memory, her neices and nephews argue about which one of the “toys” represents them, and her siblings are endeared by the small details she remembered about their favorite hair bauble or baseball cap. The painting has been enjoyed, and I love that I was able to create something that she treasures.
Carols apartment looks out onto the back of a neighbors garage: a big, blank wall. She had thought about a mural “since she bought the place” and tried to find a local artist that might be a good fit without much luck. (Well, lucky for me I should say.) Carol wanted a garden scene, and when I found out she loved the Huntington gardens, I took a field trip there to gain inspiration for the image I would create on her wall. I have included the before and after images so you can see the transformation.
It is an honor to me that Carol trusted me – twice- to create an image she would be looking at daily for many years to come. She has reported that already there are a lot more neighbors coming by to ogle the artwork. And now she has a blooming, low maintenance garden to look out onto while she eats her breakfast! (View more images from this project here.)
Surprise! Who are you again?
About two years ago I painted a cherry blossom tree in a nursery in San Francisco for Alyssa Phillips. Recently they decided to move out of the city to Black Hawk, CA, and Alyssa was so sad to leave the mural behind!
And here is one for the history books of romantic gestures: unbeknownst to Alyssa, her husband contacted me to come and paint another cherry blossom tree for their new house as a birthday present to Alyssa, on her actual birthday. So I had this great moment where I rang the doorbell, and said “Surprise! Happy Birthday!” And she said, “Who are you again?” “Oh, I am here to paint another mural for you”… (my clients remember my work, not my face, thank goodness…)
But as Alyssa and I hatched out the design for the new room, we morphed it from one cherry blossom tree.. to a whole tree lined street…in Paris! We finished it off with a poised black cat and some vintage streetlamps. Cest la vie!
If you have made it this far into my newsletter, then you must be a fan, and I look forward to seeing you Oct. 8 at my artist reception!
Blessings to you!
Morgan Bricca
Morgan Mural Studios
