New Work: Talk Denver To Me Mural
Talk Denver To Me Mural
Crush Walls 2020
Client: Crush Walls 2020
Collaborator: Ashley Joon
Sponsor: Free Market
Photos: Ryan Varga
Named after: Bryn Carter
Talk Denver To Me mural location: 2625 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205
(in the parking lot across from Denver Central Market)
If you’re interested in hiring us to paint a mural in/on your office, business or agency, contact us here!
This year was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to participate in Crush Walls. Crush Walls is Denver’s largest street art and mural event, and it takes place in Denver’s River North Arts District. RiNo has been the Crush Walls location for the past 10 years, and is the heart of Denver’s blossoming art scene. Spanning multiple city blocks, alleyways and sprawling into the streets, both local and internationally acclaimed graffiti artists and muralists are hand selected to participate in this street art festival.
Unfortunately, I totally forgot to apply this year. (I also forgot to apply to Crush Walls 2019 😐) Lucky for me, abstract floral painter and mural artist based in Denver, Ashley Joon, happened to be looking for a collaborator! Queue some hallelujah church music!
It was immediately apparent based on each of our styles that a floral mural with some sort of typography or lettering was going to be created. We both immediately saw the potential for an instagrammable mural, and we wanted the quote to be something that both locals and Denver visitors would love.
Ashley and I went back and forth on a bunch of different quotes, and the weekend before the event we stumbled upon the phrase “Talk Denver To Me”. The Talk Denver To Me quote was originally coined by Free Market, in the Dairy Block, for an art show of their own. Ashley spoke with the folks over at Free Market, and they ultimately decided to sponsor our mural — paying for the spray paint. We were stoked!
Ashley and I both traditionally work with acrylic and latex paint when painting murals. This year, however, we were both excited to push ourselves and try to learn something new. We decided to combine spray paint and acrylic. Coincidentally, the talk Denver to me mural location was in the Denver Central Market parking lot — the heart of the Crush Walls event. Painting on the side of Matchbox, we realized that we’d both be practicing our spray painting in front of 1,000’s of eyes in the most trafficked area of the largest mural event in the city. Casual…
Despite an experimental process and our first time ever working together, Ashley and I were delighted with how our Talk Denver To Me mural turned out. Plenty more photos below! Additionally, if you’re interested to purchase a print of the Talk Denver To Me mural, you can purchase one in the Vicarel Studios shop.
While yes, the Crush Walls 2020 mural event is over, it’s truly one of my favorite things to do in Denver. Not to mention, the RiNo Art District is teaming with bars, restaurants, breweries, other street art and artist studios. If you’re checking out the event in the future, the Crush Walls map and schedule can be found on the Crush Walls Instagram or website linked above.
Let’s also not forget to mention the incredible crocheted monsters adorning the roofs created by Lady Fancywork Society.
Ashley notoriously names all of her murals after a prominent woman who generally have accomplished something amazing and impactful in the world. Ashley made the suggestion to name this mural after Bryn Carter, one of Denver’s most badass entrepreneurs. Bryn is the founder of Charley Co., “A female focused work environment where inclusivity and female empowerment are at the core of our community.” (from their website) Bryn is a driven and passionate woman who is not afraid to own her femininity and express her sexuality, and we felt she embodied all that our that the talk Denver to me mural intended to convey.
