The Rink at Pine Creek

This one was tough. Fresh on the heels of completing my first mural, I said yes to my second. My amazing friend Becca is the owner of this wonderful old skate rink in Mt. Morris, Il. This place has such a great history and is still a memory maker today. 

The building was far from its prime, looking dilapidated and run down, when Becca and her family re-sided it this past summer to start bringing it back to glory. When she asked me if I could paint a mural on the outside I said YES, without hesitation. I confidently told her it would take me 20-30 hours to complete. 

Well, 90 hours later, I wasn't done, but I was done for the season. This mural was 10 feet high, and 110 feet long. Painted on corrugated steel, this "symmetrical and straight line" paint job was absolutely challenging me in every single way. I'm sure since I am un-seasoned as a muralist, that I did many things wrong. But once I figured out HOW to do what I wanted to do, I spent 75% of my time taping, 15% painting, and 10% setting up and cleaning up. The end result is very very cool, but I told my friend Becca, "this is the worst job I have ever said yes to."

Be it the heat, the cold, the wind, the bugs, the steel, the uneven terrain for my ladder or just the travel times of over an hour there and back, this job showed me that I really did not know what I was doing. But! I got it done and it is wonderful and is making such a statement. I hope she continues to love it and I hope the patrons do too. The first day I saw someone taking their picture in front of that cool retro stripe, I knew it had been worth it!