I’ve been talking with the 5th Avenue BID since an encounter at a local business meet-up a few years ago; dreaming up ways to add more colour and joy to the streets of Park Slope. They reached out and asked if I’d like to paint the public planters; this project seemed to combine my love of nature and plants in a very literal way and I jumped at the chance.

It’s not my first rodeo painting simplified florals for the community. I had the pleasure of painting the neighbourhood’s community garden’s shed as one of my first murals in NYC, as well as realistic flowers for several local businesses, my favourite being this dramatic artwork for Volare.

The project centered around these large, non-descript planters, a big opportunity to turn something industrial and boring-looking into something hand-crafted with love.

All the different planter locations across Park Slope

The brief

The BID were very open to my ideas, and unsure how many planters they would commission. Our initial conversation led to us choosing to do more, simpler designs, instead of fewer complex ones. This way we could add a tonne of colour to the streets, and find a simple way to compliment the corrugated shape of the pots instead of fighting it. Below you can see my initial inspiration board, a mix of mine and other artists work. They chose to go ahead with 16 and I took time to develop the concept for the avenue.

This was the initial moodboard, a combination of my work and other artists. Joanna and Erika particularly liked the top right image.

Sketching Local Flora and Finding Inspiration

I began the project with a few key ideas/challenges:

I wanted the planters to feel like they belonged to the Park Slope community, and had always been there.
The soothing shapes of nature would be the starting point.
The design should read from up to 100m away.

Firstly, I spent time in the areas where the planters were located, to pick up on the local colours and visualise what would work well in the space. Below you can see me taking colour references directly from the neighbourhood.

yellow-colour-swatch-being-taking-from-traffic-light.jpg

Next, I headed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where I was inspired by the shadows cast by the plants.

Designing Sixteen Unique Hand-Painted Planters

Creating a Cohesive Collection

I took what I had from the botanical garden and worked hard to create a visual language that could be applied across the 16 pots like a riff on a melody. Below you can see a number of my experiments. They needed to work as a collection without all being the same; each design is unique.

I liked the above designs, but felt I’d moved too far from the colours of the streets, below you can see a library of botanical elements I was creating.

As the project was 3D, I also bought some little pots and painted them to see how the design would work wrapping around the pot, and from multiple viewpoints.

Below you can see the final designs, the client signed off and the painting process began!

Painting Live in the Community

Conversations with Residents and Local Businesses

After sanding, cleaning and priming, I began sketching out the designs using my VR headset- definitely an unusual sight to see on a morning on 5th avenue in Brooklyn. I was lucky to be joined by my friend Jing Wei for several days as well as Emily who helped make all the yellow pop near 4th st and was great company.

During my time painting on the avenue, the highlight was interacting with the public. I felt very welcomed and cheered on by the local Brooklyn residents, and even let a toddler wear my VR headset- she lost her mind! Another little girl told me she loved the pots so much she wanted to hug them. I also got the opportunity to practice my Spanish, and a local legend asked for some of my paint so he could paint the wheels of his amazing car.

Local Brooklyn businesses and organisations supported me the whole way- with a big shout out to L’Albero Gelateria for giving me free ice cream every single day- so delicious! To Hungry Ghost for letting me store my cart overnight to stop me pushing it up the hill, and to The Old Stone house for letting me wash my brushes, as well as Joanna and Erica from the BID bringing me cookies, high vis and new painting gloves.

The project was great, but, admittedly, also a learning curve. It was my first experience working on a round 3D object (I’m normally on a flat wall) and I underestimated both the time it would take to paint them, and how physically demanding it would be to spend most of the day squatting.

It was loud, bustling and sometimes very hot, but passersby cheering me on and the idea that the artwork would have a positive impact on the neighbourhood really kept me going. I definitely learned a lot from the experience, particularly about painting in 3D and ensuring I’ve estimated the time correctly.

The reaction to the pots

As I outlined above, the public really got behind me on this one. But I couldn’t believe when this project was featured not once, not twice, but four times in the press. I really felt the love on this one! You can see more images of the finished pots and read what the press had to say here.

Looking for a Public Artist in Brooklyn or NYC?

Whether you're a BID, community organisation, business owner, school, or developer, I'd love to hear about your project. You can see my mural portfolio or get in touch here.

Designing and Hand-Painting Public Art Planters for the 5th Avenue BID in Park Slope, Brooklyn