Electric avenue

“Electric Avenue” (photo credit JM Wolf)

In collaboration with Artworks of Cincinnati, as well as Duke Energy. I was assisted with painting this mural by a talented team of artists : TA Edwin Miller, and apprentices Winter Edwards, James Gieseke, Lila Herzig, Daesha Howard, Lila Joffe, Wyatt Lemay, and Logan Wallen.

When setting out to design for this project, the main goals of the client (Duke Energy) for this mural project were to have strong ties to the surrounding community (past & present), and to the physical wall it would be painted on. The 3 characters riding bicycles represent the 3 local high schools in the area. The Walnut Hills Eagles, the Academy of World Languages Dragons, and the Withrow High School Tigers. The trains and tracks found weaving in and out of the design reference what the Wasson Way trail was originally. The bikes, running legs, and floral elements painted throughout the mural reflect the activities people enjoy today on the Wasson Way. The flowers represented are as follows: The Carnation (Ohio’s St. flower), the Baby’s Breath (represents happiness), The Magnolia (represents love of nature), and the Yellow Poppy (represents health and success).

To tie the design to the physical wall, I incorporated the texture of the brick, metal, and concrete found on the wall. The variety of different sized tree trunks found throughout the composition were designed to be unpainted elements, helping to not only frame the subject matter in a unique way, but also to help seamlessly merge the mural to the wall.

To represent the major themes of Duke Energy (the building owner), I incorporated silhouettes of windmills throughout the background, reflecting ideas of sustainability and clean energy. Lightbulbs can be found growing and blooming from one end of the wall to the other, referencing Duke Energy’s service to the surrounding communities.

My hope is that “Electric Avenue” will continue to send positivity and encouragement to all that use the Wasson Way Trail, and become a beacon of energy, optimism, and creativity, to electrify its surroundings.

-Mural is located at 3736 Regent Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45212

-Acrylic on concrete and masonry block

-280’ x 15’

-2020