Where a convenient store and gas station used to be, on a very well traveled corner in the East Brainerd area of Chattanooga, TN now stands a pro-military, veteran owned hamburger joint, aiming to open Sept 10, 2018. Owned by a third generation, decorated combat Marine, the idea was to project a very American vibe. The 9-11 mural has already gotten quite a positive reaction from those driving by! The Statue of Liberty mural on the front of the building has also gotten a lot of affirming comments, and has generated a desire to support this local business.
The owner's request, "I want either a cascading flag or maybe the Iwojima image on this wall". I decided to combine the two. Then, at the suggestion of his USO friends, we decided that having a twin towers mural, including the motivating quote from George W. Bush from that time was much more powerful.
What a transformation a mural makes! The 9-11 tribute mural or flag mural, as some call it, carries a powerfully patriotic message, which is welcomed in this area. From drab to fab with a mural!
Even though this wall was cleaned, primed and painted white, the surface is brick, with many, many layers of partly peeling paint, making it impossible to draw on the outlines in the normal way. This mural had to literally be painted on. Passersby that night enjoyed seeing a preview of what was to come. We got several affirming acclimations even that night.
After 4.5 hours, the 28 foot mural outline was on! Half of that time was spent on the lettering.
After an entire day of tightening up the lettering on that rough surface, and getting the skyline painted in for those who would drive by it that first evening, it was time to start on the stars and stripes! At this point, the owner was a little worried that it wasn't going to come out well.... never judge an artist before they are done!! lol
The second mural at The Great American Filling Station was to be a Statue of Liberty mural (holding a hamburger and a menu). It immediately garnered a lot of positive comments about the place, and whole lot of curiosity!
Once again, you can see how a even a simple mural can be part of a complete transformation of any space.
The first request from the owner was a have a whitewashed mural on the inside over a brick wall that he constructed for this purpose. The area is actually a small stage area for live music. The logo mural reminds people where they are, and complements the other decor inside the restaurant.
Very early in the buildout process, the mural transformations began (along with a whole lot of other changes, too!)