October 26, 2016

"Native Son (This Saint Floyd)" : Mural for the Manitou Art Center, Colorado

This is a mural I painted over the Summer, commissioned for The Manitou Art Center (The MAC) in Manitou Springs, Colorado. The mural is a collaboration with my good friend FUSE, a Los Angeles graffiti veteran who began painting in the 1980s with AWR crew before relocating to Colorado in the 90s. 
The mural is based on my photos of legendary and reclusive local artist Floyd Tunson (born 1947), who had a retrospective at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in 2013, a couple years before my own exhibition there last year. Tunson is a Colorado native who has been creating art in his Manitou Springs studio for over 30 years. It was a pleasure getting to know him, and I would consider him one of the most inspiring and interesting people I've met. I recognize in him a deep love for creation, experimentation, and a certain shared philosophy that art and life are inseparable.

Many thanks to FUSE & the Masters Family, Floyd & Flo, The Manitou Art Center, Natalie Johnson, Joy Armstrong, Don Goede and all the kind people of Colorado Springs & Manitou Springs who supported with such tremendous positivity. This was one of the most beautiful and welcoming places I've painted.
Thanks as well to the Bee Vradenburg Foundation, Gazette Charities, the City of Manitou Springs, Ben Harvey Financial Group, Manitou Springs Real Estate, Adventures Out West, City Paint, & SunWater Spa