Nearly two weeks into the painting process, Rich Lo’s kite mural is starting to take shape at the DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM). He began by focusing on the left side of the mural.
“I want to make sure that I get one area where I think is close to the finish. So then the viewer can imagine what it could look like,” said Lo.
Painting at the DuPage Children’s Museum
Lo imagined the finished product himself before he’d even started.
“Once I saw the blank wall on the museum when I was driving by, I realized that I have just the right artwork for this,” said Lo.
“Rich reached out to us in early summer, looking for a place for the mural. He had sent us a few different options. So I did some investigation to see who he was and what the whole thing was about and it was just such a beautiful fit for the museum,” said Kim Stull, Chief of Building and Making at the DuPage Children’s Museum.
The mural is located on the outside wall of the museum’s AWEsome Air Exhibit. To connect the kites to the exhibit, the DCM will use digital files of kites painted by Lo on the windows next to the mural.
They’ll be visible both outside as an extension of the artwork and inside, bringing the kites to the children at play.
“I think there’s a streamer that’s on the graphics that can connect with the owl. So then visually you’re seeing some kind of connection,” said Lo.
Hardships during the daily painting process
Lo has been working on the project daily, starting early in the morning, taking a break in the early afternoon, and returning around 3 p.m. to work until sundown.
Though this schedule helps him maximize his time, uncontrollable elements have made the process challenging.
“The heat wears you down. Doesn’t matter how much water you drink or Gatorade. It’s just the process of climbing up and down the ladder, the heat, and the constant movement of your arm,” said Lo.
And rain can throw a wrench in the works as well.
“It rained last night. I came back this morning and discovered some of the caulking had bubbled up. I took my fingernail and exposed some of that caulking. I think to fix this, [I’ll need] to use wood filler and then go in with sandpaper and then paint over it,” said Lo.
But the progress continues…as the giant owl is now taking shape.
“Getting the eyes to be round freehand is also another added difficulty when you do large things,” said Lo.
Pushing through the hardships
Despite the challenges, the thought of sharing the completed mural with the community on Oct. 20 keeps Lo motivated.
“As much as there are hardships physically [and] mentally, doing large-scale public art, it’s always worth it. There’s no regrets, these projects are so precious,” said Lo.
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