Mural Musings

March 2025

A Mixologists Dream, painted at Hikasa Dining Bar in Binh Duong New City, Ho Chi Minh.

Dear friends, family and collectors,

This past month has been a slow one, with only a moment or two of busyness. As such, I find myself in a lazy haze with only a few tit-bits to report. So, I thought that perhaps this month's newsletter could be a more visual one. I was approached by a Japanese cocktail bar here in the city where I live to paint a mural in the lounge area of their bar. I drew inspiration from the collage and pen drawings that I have been making, and designed a mural with bold, colourful shapes overlaid with black curvy doodley lines.

This bar is known for the high standard of cocktails that they serve, and so I felt that the colours and movement in the mural should reflect the experimental and playful nature which is so key to the business of good mixology. I presented a preliminary design to the manager with the caveat that I would like to have the freedom when painting to change and tweak the design as needed. He happily accepted.

On Day 1 of painting the mural I was quite nervous; knowing that I had already committed to painting in physical space a piece that looked great in digital form, without having any idea whether I could pull it off or not. Thankfully, I remembered somewhere during the course of the morning that life isn't quite so serious, that I do actually know how and also love to paint and that it's actually an experience to be savoured and enjoyed. So, I took a deep breath, fell back on my trusty mantra of saying "Fuck it" and jumped back in, one brushstroke at a time.

Day 2 was just plain, uncomplicated fun (and exhausting, let's not lie). I got stuck into the balancing act of adding detail, getting fully emersed in the luscious automatic process of doodling. I pushed here and pulled there until the mural was contentedly humming along, visually balanced.

I have always had a love for murals, especially because of the way they are able to alter our experience of a public space. It's also such a wonderful way to bring art into spaces and in front of people who wouldn't necessarily go out of their way to visit a gallery or a museum.

May you find moments of joy in the public murals which adorn the town or city where you live. Art can, after-all, be such a marvellous vehicle for joy and real-life magic.

With all my love,

Nicola

PS. As always, if you enjoyed my musings and know of anyone who might also enjoy my ramblings please forward my blog to them, your support will be greatly appreciated. I would also love to hear from you. So any responses or comments or creative stories of your own that you might have and would like to share with me, please reach out!