Garden of the Dogs

“Garden of the Dogs”

In collaboration with Streetspark of Hamilton OH. I was assisted with painting this mural by a talented team of artists : Emily Mason, Latosha Stone, Olga Klepinger, Mark Hanavan, Sydnie Reatherford.

When beginning to design and build this composition, I had the overall goal of complimenting and enhancing the environment it will live in, while retaining a subtle, timeless beauty.  It was taken into consideration that anyone living directly across the street in the Colonial Lake Community, will view this design on a daily basis. That being said, I felt this mural needed to not only fit in the neighborhood it would live in, but give its daily resident viewers a layered design that is filled with meaning and connections to the specific location, region, and state it will reside. 

The first layer of this design, or first glance, shows a long floral composition. I used movement and energy to unify this large horizontal space, from one end to the other.  Due to the scale of the wall, the viewer will likely view this design from the parking lot directly in front ( getting a partial view), or from far across the street.  The consistent movement and overall unity  of the composition gives the viewer a full experience, from either vantage point.  The color palette is subtle, and helps to compliment the physical site location, as well as the neighborhood its located in. “Not to Flashy”, but a timeless quality.

The second layer of this mural is all the flowers and elements chosen to be incorporated . Buckeyes are the state tree. The Carnation is the state flower. The trillium is the state wildflower. The lady bug is the state bug.  The daffodils represent rebirth, commenting on the past decade of Hamilton, especially in the arts. The marigolds represent creativity, espcially in the recent growth of the arts community in the region. Peonies represent the recent prosperity and growth of Hamilton.  All of these elements help to tie this design to the state and region of its location.

To help tie this mural to its immediate location at 190 Brookwood Ave, in Hamilton, creates the third layer of this design.  The multiple flowers, leaves, branches, and bugs are used to subtly portray 7 different bulldog faces. These bulldogs represent the Hamilton High School Bulldogs, close to the mural site. Viewing from the center, the subtle representations of the bulldog faces turn way from the viewer as they look to the right or left. This allows any vantage point to have a focal point, from either direction you’re coming from on NW Washington BLVD. This design is meant to enhance the environment it will inhabit, while retaining a subtle and timeless beauty.

-Mural is located at 190 N Brookwood Ave, Hamilton, OH 45013

-Acrylic on masonry block

-160’ x22’

-2020