My Mural Journey

Outdoor art is something that I have been interested in for many years. My first foray into the field was a 9 ft sq chalk drawing I did for Impressions in Chalk at the 2018 Ribfest celebration in Victoria Park in London, Ontario. 2 days of grueling sunshine and working on cement. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it… and I did!

I saw other artists involved in outdoor murals on walls and started to look into doing that as well. It was not until I had the opportunity to participate in a Mural project by the Old East Village BIA in the late spring of 2022, that I took my chance. This was a unique project as they were pairing up mentors and mentees. I immediately signed up as a mentee and about 2 weeks later I received an email stating that I was accepted. The program was set up to help artists like myself who wanted to get into mural painting but needed some experience. 

I am very grateful for the mentor/mentee program as I ended up being paired with Tova Hasiwar, a contemporary artist with 7 years experience as a mural artist. We ended up having the largest wall (23 ft high x 16.5 ft wide). I was fortunate not only to work with a seasoned artist, but also knowing how to design and create a huge mural. We worked for 12 days straight, 9-13 hours per day. This was a challenge that I again, wanted to take on and proved to everyone and myself that I could. 

Another thing that I learned from the experience is that I really loved the line work. I got really good at painting on bumpy brick and at time, found myself lost in the work. Tova and I both admitted on our 3rd day in to the project that we worked very well together and as we were both professionals, we collaborated very well. She, at times, relied on my 20 years experience as an artist and former teacher to bring good ideas to the table. I relied on her knowledge about the mural process and her generosity of sharing her experiences.