About the Mural:
In a career-changing moment, I spent two years walking past this parking structure daily, unaware I would paint it and become a professional muralist. The chances of painting at UC Davis Medical Center were two out of over four hundred applicants! It was my first mural and in a spot that thousands see daily! Before this opportunity, I would spend months on shoebox-sized paintings. So a wall the size of multiple cars was extra challenging because I had a few weeks to complete it.
The optical illusion mural, Unity, appears to be a solitary flower from afar. Yet, upon closer inspection, the petals are birds! My vision was to encourage people that the pandemic may make us feel alone, but we're all united as we keep moving forward. That's how once a dusty parking structure became a highly recognizable location in Sacramento.
UC Davis Medical Center
Premium professional exterior paint on concrete, gold metallic color
Sacramento, CA.
12x20 feet
Behind the Scenes:
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Unity suffuses a soft glow that welcomes visitors to UC Davis. The smooth gradient was created by maintaining a "wet edge." That entailed blending wet paint from the flower's center to the farthest corners in a single direction, and keeping track of the colors used in each segment. This blending created dozens of unique color combinations in addition to the shades included in the palette.
