Gompers

...Pictures of the installation at Gompers Elementary and the dedication. This was an insanely fast project but was incredibly fun as well, the principal, staff and students were very supportive and excited about everything that was happening in their school.

Samuel Gompers Elementary School

Samuel Gompers Elementary School, located near City Line Ave. is renovating their library with the help of Target and Hearts of America. This is the design I came up with, their moscot is a tiger so I used tigers and tiger swallowtail butterflies. Their motto is Gompers ...a great place to be somebody.

Key for Students

I also created a grid and key so the students and faculty could easily find their portrait in the collage.

The Birney School

I installed the mural today with the help of Dave Grey. I think the students will be surprised to see it up when they return to school next week. It really turned out great and it fits perfectly between these 2 doors.

Great Students

I have worked in several Elementary Schools in Philadelphia and by far Birney Elementary has been one of my favorites. I will be returning to install the mural hopefully in August.

Geometric Pattern

Once the triangles were finished, the students helped me place the triangles and finish painting the remaining mural.

General David B. Birney Elementary School

While assisting Eric Okdeh on a mural at 9th and Lindley Ave., the neighboring Elementary school became interested in participating in some way in the Mural. Since the mural was close to completion I designed a small mural that the students could complete in one workshop and display in their school. A few days before the workshop we gave the students a tour of the mural, and I shot pictures of the students who were interested in painting a mural. For the design I took triangular sections of students faces to collage in geometric patterns. Each student got to paint their own portrait section.

Student work

These are close ups of the students paintings. Originally the tree was meant to be filled with student's paintings, but it was met with resistance from the school, so I only included these 2 painting which I felt were exceptional for 3rd grade students.

Mural is Finished

The interior mural at the William Bryant elementary school is finished.

Finished Stairwell at William Bryant

This stairwell is at the opposite end of the school from the Boy turning into a Bird stairwell. A little addition of color does make the stairwell look less oppressive.

Mural Room

This is the room the students pass through before they go into the cafeteria, it has murals that cover all 4 walls. It is almost finished the only thing that still needs to be completed are student's paintings that will be installed soon.

William Bryant Elementary School

At the William Bryant School I designed 2 stairwells, this one features a student walking up the stairs and progressively turning into a bird.

William Brynt Elementary School

This years Eagles project is taking place at the William Brynt Elementary School located at 60th and Cedar. I am in the process of designing interior murals for different parts of the school. This elementary school is particularly challenging because there is very little large uninterrupted wall space, but there is one large room that the children pass through on their way to the auditorium and cafeteria. This design features Marian Anderson as a symbol of peace and hope, because she used talent to overcome diversity, 2 themes the school chose to focus on.

Gardens at Versialle

Here I am standing in front of the expansive Palace of Versialles Gardens, it was freezing but still stunning. I have made a vow to return in the summer or spring to see it in its full glory. Unfortunately the Palace was under renovation and had very limited access, but still overwhelming and beautiful.

Delights of Paris

This was one of the many delights I had in Paris at a little cafe in Montmartre. It was the largest slice on meringue I had ever seen and I wish I could say I ate it all.

Paris

Through the winter I continued to work with Mural Arts on interior projects and set production with 6ABC, but the real highlight was a trip to Paris with my best friend Emma. I fell in love with all things Parisian, and while some things in Paris were not what I expected the Eiffel Tower did not disappoint. It was truly amazing, and nothing can top spending New Year's Eve under the Eiffel Tower with hundreds of people celebrating, fireworks being set off all around us and a perfectly French bottle of wine.

J. Finnegan Playground Dedication

The dedication for this wall was amazing to me;(1) it was my first dedication of a mural project that I designed, (2) there was an amazing turn out of people, Charles Knox's family, friends and fellow police officers, and (3) Paul "Earthquake" Moore who is a local celebrity and is featured in the mural, always entertains the crowd. The picture is of Paul Downie (left) fellow Mural Artist and Paul "Earthquake" Moore (right) touching fingers a slightly mystical moment as a great reminder of an inspiring day.

J. Finnegan Playground

The J. Finnegan Recreation Center facilitates extracurricular activities for the local neighborhood youth and for their 50th anniversary they commissioned a mural to reflect the spirit of the Center, covering all four exterior walls. I collaborated with fellow muralist Paul Downie to design a mural that includes: (1) the history of the Eastwick neighborhood; (2) a memorial to Charles Knox, a police officer killed in the line of duty; (3) representation of current local sports activities; and (4) children at play. Paul and I also organized a “Paint Day” as part of this project; on this day, children from the local elementary school came and joined in the painting of the mural.

William Dick Elementary Playground Build

I realize I haven't updated in a very long time, so I thought I would take the time to revisit what I have done for the last year. I was honored last summer to be apart of the Eagles Playground Build 2007 at the William Dick Elementary School located at 24th and Diamond. This project is a collaboration between the Philadelphia Eagles, The Philadelphia School District, The Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia, as well as countless local volunteers and businesses. It was a month of prep for one big Paint Day, followed by, a month and a half of finishing Murals that wrapped around the entire school and 13 interior Murals, in hallways, the gym, auditorium and cafeteria. Even thinking back on the venture it is amazing how much we accomplished. When I say "we" I am referring to the entire team of artists that tackled (no pun intended) the complete transformation, Dave McShane, Lead Artist who designed the exterior murals, Paul Downie and myself designed the interior murals, and several Assistants who worked especially hard, my favorite being Mary Ellis Hall. The pictures above is a 2nd grade class painting on cloth outside that was later adherred to an interior wall, and Eagles Players and staff painting with a 3rd grade class on the interior walls.

Female Nude

Last night at Fleisher Art Memorial I completed this painting in 2 and a half hours. I had missed the 2 previous nights for this pose so I had only one sitting to work on it. I think it turned out nicely for such a short amount of time.