Cleveland, OH

September 19, 2015 admin

Greetings from Cleveland! Thank you to all the amazing locals we have met in Cleveland while painting in the Ohio City community. Before we started our tour back in April, we met with Stamy Paul from Graffiti HeArt to talk about the possibility of doing a Greetings from Cleveland mural. Five months later, with the additional help of Ohio City Inc. and Solo Block Club, we were able to make it a reality.

As soon as we arrived at the wall, we had a warm welcome from our new neighbor Tim Del Papa who was already expecting us. It quickly gave us a sense of the community involvement of this project. Across the street, local artist and gallery owner Loren Naji hooked us up with electricity, wi-fi and some free parking for the week. We really got to know a lot of the Ohio City residents as they passed by every day to chat and photograph the progress.

Before we paint, Lisa photographs all of our walls in their original state to have a historical record. Eventually, these photos help show the transformation of the public space with our murals. Nothing tells a stronger story than a before and after photograph! The retail space was abandoned and the paint was chipping off the wall which would be our canvas. We got to work scrapping off any flaking paint. The property owner was also kind enough to help remove the air conditioner cages and replace the sheet metal to block out the windows. We focus on the longevity of our timeless murals so the preparation of surfaces is very important to us.

Next, we primed the area where the mural was going to live and got to work with a rough layot of our lettering. The beginning stages of our murals look pretty rough but we like to show the work in progress and how it all comes together. To speed up the process, we sometimes use a projector to lay out our design to scale. Luckily, we have a generator on board our RV so we have electric anywhere to do this at night.

The strongest feedback we got was when we started incorporating the Cleveland Browns logo into the piece. The locals immediately recognized the colors and and honked their horns in approval as they drove by. We quickly discovered the strong local pride in Cleveland’s home sports teams.

We got to work filling out the background and working from the top down. Because our murals have so much exposure, we have learned to paint them in a way that look aesthetically pleasing during the work in progress. For example, we will fill out all of the background and then work our way inwards so that everyone can read the letters. The colorful backgrounds also catch the eye of passerbys.

Victor experimented with spraying paint into little Dixie cups to use for brush details. This was a time consuming process that really destroyed the bristles of brushes but it was unique and worked with quick color matching. It certainly saved us time as we didn’t have a studio to be able to mix custom colors.

Collaborating with locals is one of the favorite parts of doing these murals. Local tattoo artist Vic Savage helped paint a tribute to the RTA and DROIDS crew based in Cleveland. He painted the "A" in the greetings mural. Vic Savage also had a background in graffiti art with mutual friends of ours through the culture. Cleveland sign painter, Alan Giberson, did the lettering above the mural listing our sponsorships. It’s been great to form these artist friendships on our tour over the years. Our hope is to connect local artists with any leads for future work when we are not in the area ourselves. The local artists also have a sense of ownership and help maintain the work long after we are gone.

A lot of the locals hung out with us as we painted throughout the week. It was refreshing to see a strong and creative art community. A special shout out to Loren Naji who’s studio and gallery was located across the street from the wall. On top of being a hilarious guy, we showed us all kinds of interesting artifacts from his travels. His art and views on life were inspiring to say the least.

Lastly, after we completed the mural, there was a unveiling ceremony organized by Stamy Paul and city officials. We were presented with an Ohio City pin and felt very honored!

Lisa was born and raised not far away in Canton, Ohio so Cleveland was a second home to her growing up. It was a honor to paint such an impactful community art piece to serve as an image of local pride. This Cleveland mural also opened up many opportunities for us in the state of Ohio. We now have more murals in this state than any other in America. Thank you Cleveland!