Holy moly, I still can’t believe I’m done painting this gigantic piece on @hallbicycle with Bex from @onviewgallery, @crmeconomicalliance and with the always amazing logistics help from @randibivens & @artistuprising. I’m still waking up at 4:30am every day with the feeling of “let’s go!!”, so that will take a couple weeks to get rid of lol. But I am so excited to share this new piece, centered and themed around @ragbrai with you all. It isn’t technically my largest to date, my SPEEDRACER wall done through @muros.co still takes the cake on that, BUT this one is definitely the largest and highest detailed. For reference, I am only as tall as the head tube (depicted in red) of the center cyclists bike. It took a clean 2 weeks from start to finish. Took 2 days to prime, (day 1 the sprayer crapped out so I had to exchange and come back the next day), then I projected the sketch in two panels, the left side on day 3 and the right side on day 4. Took a couple days playing with latex paint and a sprayer to get the big background shapes dealt with, then spent the remainder of the project with a lift basket full of spray paint filling in shapes. Every new wall is such a new learning experience and this was no different. When working at this scale it’s easy to feel small and overwhelmed by the process, make your first lines and then look down the wall only to see how much is left to cover, but I got some good words on day 1 from @yoyocam “Only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time”, which I reminded myself of at the start of every day. This tactic helped me focus on stages and segments, rather than spending the whole time thinking about the entire piece as a whole. Thanks Cam!! 🔥 ⚡️
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It was so refreshing painting cyclists again. I grew up on bikes so I always love the nostalgic smell of new tires when I walk into a bike shop. I hope murals like this show the joy and of bicycles but also the independence achieved by moving by bike, and the welcoming community that comes with bikes. If you were planning a bike ride, where would you go? 🚲☀️🌾

Spray paint and exterior latex paint on brick

Cedar Rapids, IA