Orange Walls Mural Project // 2045 W Concord Place, Chicago // 2011

I painted a mural last October here in Chicago for the Orange Walls Mural Project sponsored by the Wicker Park / Bucktown chamber of commerce.  It's 23 feet x 8 feet, and located at 2045 W Concord Place, just off of Milwaukee Ave.   You can view it from the street, or from the southbound blue line el train, just north of the Damen stop.

Here are some photos........

I really love painting murals.  It's seriously challenging and often physically painful, but also strangely comfortable.  Maybe it's because the first serious thing I ever really painted (professionally speaking) was a 40+-foot French renaissance painting for the backdrop of a play.  I would sit on the floor of the theatre at 2 am, by myself, working, so daunted & frustrated...I'd maybe even have a cry or two... but it was incredibly fulfilling when it was finally done and actually worked.

I started focusing on developing my own work after my father passed away in an effort to distract myself from the sadness, to make myself feel better.  Then after a bit, it started to feel really good to try and make things that might help other people feel good, too.  So that kind of became a quiet goal with my work. This mural is visible from the southbound blue line el train....downtown-bound.. full of people headed to work or appointments:: serious, caught up in thoughts (like we all can be, so often)... My hope with the mural is simply that it gives someone a moment of lightness in their day and maybe a feeling of connection or openness to the people around them.

Ok, that's enough personal stuff.  I rarely do that on my blog, and will surely feel a bit uncomfortable after posting this.  Stop by and see the mural if you can!  I hope it makes you feel silly or smiley or big in the heart or something really warm and good like that.

love, laura