MERLOT shares with us the process, challenges, and background of her recent Alphabet Project in the Windy City. We present – the A to Z of MERLOT.
Over this past summer, I worked on a project where I’d be able to utilize my love for typography and lettering by painting 26 murals (each letter of the alphabet) around the ‘Lincoln Yards’ area in Chicago, IL. This has always been a dream project of mine; to have free rein on painting the alphabet on such beautifully aged surfaces.
I’ve always loved type and have tried to incorporate it in my graff where I see fit, but to have a project where I could focus solely on letters really got me thinking differently. Trying to play around with depth, surfaces, and scale, all while taking a deep interest in the art of sign painting kept me constantly coming up with new techniques that I wanted to experiment with for the letters.
One technique that I tried early on and incorporated on many of the letters throughout, was the use of Ironlak Black Techie (transparent black). I wanted a way to give depth to the letters be creating more realistic shadows in order to have the grunge texture show through and become part of the artwork. This made something that might feel very clean and vibrant, adhere to the space in a more impactful way.
For most of the letters, I would try to accomplish one letter per day within a three-hour period. I would get off work at 4 pm, head to the wall to paint and finish the letter before sunset. This made me figure out ways to work more effectively and efficiently in order to be happy with the end result.
The first letter that was painted (the letter ‘R’), was actually painted by Zach Rockstad (@Zacher1; a very talented artist/ sign painter based in Seattle, WA). This was the only letter that I didn’t paint and instead assisted with. I was really inspired by watching him paint this letter and believe he really set the tone for the project.
One obstacle that I ran into along the way was one day when I was told I needed to complete five letters that evening because I leaving the country the next day and had to stick to client set deadlines (V,L,T,D, & B). For these letters, I tried to figure out styles and techniques to get each letter done within one hour in order to not be out until sunrise. While I would have loved to spend more time on each of these letters; sometimes I feel that simplicity overpowers complexity. There is just something so attractive and relatable about something so simple.
The letter ‘Y’ was painted on a five-story building. This is the tallest mural that I have completed to date and was a very valuable learning experience, especially as I had one day to complete the mural. Luckily, I had an amazing view of the city behind me as I was painting which made the experience that much more enjoyable. I had a lot of hiccups throughout the day, but ultimately, I was very happy with the end product.
I hope to be able to work on many more projects like this in the future
<3 MERLOT
#MerlotAlphabet
To stay up on MERLOT, follow @merlotism on Instagram, or point your web browser to merlotism.com
