THIS week we chat with mural artist and graphic designer Wes Franklin<\/p>\n
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What motivated you to get into making large scale art?<\/strong><\/p>\n Part of what got me into murals is that I was curious to see if I could take the lettering I was creating on a small scale and reproduce it on a large scale. Sure enough, I found that I could do it and, more importantly, really enjoyed the process.<\/p>\n The other thing I love about murals is that they get me out in the community, meeting and working with great people, and leaving my mark.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Can you describe your style? <\/strong><\/p>\n My artistic style could be described as typographic-driven, with a healthy dose of clean lines and textures.<\/p>\n Five or six years ago I fell in love with hand lettering, and pursued it as a hobby for a few years. But it has become a passion, maybe even an obsession, and now lettering shows up in all my work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is it hard to make ends meet purely from your art practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n I know there are muralists out there who make a living from painting walls, but for me murals are only a part of what I do. I\u2019ve been a graphic designer since 2005, and these days I focus on brand identity projects for small businesses and community organisations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How can a mural enhance the facade of, say, a restaurant or retail outlet?<\/strong><\/p>\n Murals have become popular amongst businesses because they transform a \u2018boring\u2019 wall into an engaging space. Typographic murals like the ones I create go even further because the words that I paint have meaning – so there\u2019s a great opportunity for businesses to make a statement and communicate to their audience. Beautiful lettering on a wall can also really bring a space to life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which artists inspire you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Recently I discovered Corita Kent (1918\u20131986) who was an artist, educator, advocate for social justice, and also a nun! I\u2019ve been incredibly inspired by the purpose with which she lived her life, and the amazing typographic work she created.<\/p>\n Some more contemporary inspirations are lettering artists like Ken Barber and Gen Ram\u00edrez – who are masters of the craft, and muralists like Andrew Frazer, Kate Foxton and Brett Piva – who use really interesting textures and colour palettes. I also find the work of Erica Dorn fascinating – she has been the lead graphic designer on a bunch of Wes Anderson films.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n