A Mural Showcasing the Salt Lake Valley
A Mural Showcasing the Salt Lake Valley
Art Title: Salt Lake Culture & Nature
Commission Criteria
When a commission echoes the song in your own heart, magic happens. That’s why I was so excited to take on the task of creating a mural featuring my interpretation of the unique beauty and character of the Salt Lake Valley. With the brand new logo created by Visit Salt Lake (VSL) – a salt crystal to symbolize the many facets of life and experience in Salt Lake – as inspiration, I was one of 10 local artists selected to paint murals at various locations across Salt Lake County. Commissioned by The Utah Arts Alliance in partnership with VSL, the project sought to bring to life the branded theme of “West of Conventional” through artistically rendered geometrical shapes. I was awarded the Mountain America Expo Center as the site for my mural. With its unique architecture of triangular shapes that jut out from the building, it was a perfect background for the angular elements that I would be including in my design.
Inspiration
Unconventional. Open-hearted. Majestic. These are the feelings I was inspired to give shape and color to in this work of art showcasing the Salt Lake Valley. The imagery would include the region’s diverse and friendly people surrounded by mountains intertwined with elements of both culture and nature. I intended the art to be a visual portrayal of entertainment and world-class arts offerings, outstanding restaurants, nightlife and, of course, the scenic outdoors where all kinds of recreation are close at hand.
The Process
I designed the mural keeping in mind the earth-toned mix of colors and the angular design theme, making sure to include the words “Salt Lake” and the salt crystal logo of the “West of Conventional” brand. I chose a palette of colors that harmonized nicely with each other while also reflecting the brand’s distinct hues. All of these elements are connected by variously colored and angled shapes conveying the many facets of this unique place with its inherent beauty and diverse people.
The murals were to be painted under a tight timeframe, so my team and I went to work quickly. First we prepped the raw concrete wall in the area where the angular freeform shape of the mural would be painted. We then projected the mural design to get the line work on the wall, and hand-painted the mural with brushes and rollers using high quality interior acrylic latex. The mural art is a stylized depiction of the dynamic cultural aspects of the Salt Lake Valley with its stunning natural surroundings and wide open spaces.
The Reveal
It was such fun painting while events were happening at the Expo Center! So many people stopped by to watch, and had interesting questions and positive comments about the art. It is always my intention to benefit people’s everyday lives with uplifting and beautiful art, so I enjoyed being present for those interactions. The mural was visited by members of the press while we were painting, and I was featured in a photo article in the Salt Lake Tribune. Visit Salt Lake created a mobile passport with the locations of the murals around Salt Lake so people could find each work of art and win a t-shirt after visiting them all.
I was one of the muralists featured in this television interview about the Visit Salt Lake Mural project.
Have a look at my Instagram page to see some fun time-lapse videos and other in-progress photos.
Order of Photos:
Sketches (caption–Some initial thumbnail sketches.)
Projection (caption–It was projected at night so we could paint the lines.)
Lines (caption–How it looked the morning after projecting the art and painting the lines.)
Wip1 (caption–Work in progress.)
Mural (caption–The finished mural.)
