On a crisp morning in March, I pushed my trolley full of paint the fifteen minute walk past the beautiful Grand Army Plaza library and through the brown stone lined streets of Prospect Heights. It was still cold enough to wear gloves as I laid down my drop sheet and started to sketch the design.

I was there to paint a community bird mural in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, as part of Washington Walls. It’s an amazing community mural project, founded by local resident Jeff, who was determined to bring some of the magic of art to the streets of Brooklyn. He had invited me, alongside a number of NYC artists, to transform the intersection between Washington Avenue and Clark Place. I was thrilled to contribute to such a wholesome, community project, I believe that public art has the power to transform neighbourhoods, bring people together and can be a massive force for good. This wasn’t my first experience creating artwork for a shared neighborhood space, I had previously painted a floral shed mural for my local Park Slope community garden, but it was my first experience alongside a big group of artists.

Creating my bird mural design

I chose to paint a Chaffinch, a symbol of resilience in difficult times when so many people are facing challenges in NYC. The little bird would act as a reminder of strength, and I also hoped the local children would engage with it as I’ve had great experiences with children enjoying animal murals in the past, such as for my nature-inspired mural for a Bronx school to this animal filled powder room mural for a family!

Below I guide you through some of my mural design brainstorming process. I really love the idea of combining a realistic bird with free organic painterly forms, something I explored for this mural.

I also considered the idea of having a pair of birds, but as I only had two days to paint the mural I chose to paint one bird well instead of rushing to paint two.

Below you can see the final bird mural concept, I still left a little creativity on the wall, but had a clear composition to follow.

Painting alongside with other NYC artists

Fueled by cappuccino from the wonderful Penny House cafe across the street, I met my neighbouring artists, Le Crue and Sarkism. Le Crue brought a speaker to blast out some tunes while we laid our sketches down. One of my favourite parts of this project, was seeing how differently each mural artist tackled their spaces. Some worked with stencils and spray paints, while others free-handed or carefully gridded out designs. We collaborated and helped each other out, trading paints and step ladders throughout the day and having a lot of good chats. It was exciting to be part of a giant team of artists in what is often a solitary profession.

The whole team of NYC mural and street artists who painted for Washington Walls

Transferring and hand-painting the Design

Below I guide you through the techniques I used to transfer the design onto the wall and create a realistic bird mural, as well as some of the specific challenges of this project.

The wall was primed ready for me to paint, you can see my simple set up

To transfer the design onto the wall, I divided it into two levels: the loose textured background, and the refined foliage and bird. I began by sketching up the background with the VR as well as using the old-school nail and a piece of string to draw the circle in. I then painted in the background’s loose painterly elements.

Next, I put the virtual reality headset back on and sketched up the final layer, the bird and the foliage. Everything was painted in high-quality exterior latex paint, which is highly durable and UV resistant. I brought in a number of cleaning brushes which are just so much fun to create dynamic textures with, alongside a fan brush that was ideal to execute the layering up of feathers.

Connecting with the Prospect Heights community

Whenever I work painting in the street, I’m reminded how good people are. While painting murals is a wonderful thing to do for a living, it’s also challenging; the hours are long, it’s physically tiring and sometimes it’s cold. When you’re in a flow state and everything is going well it can feel amazing, like a public performance. But when something goes wrong, or you hit an ‘ugly stage’, having hundreds of people walk past you on the street and watch can be intimidating. What really helps in these moments, is when a local says something like ‘You cooking!’ (a personal favourite) or “great job”. I was lucky to receive that level of support throughout the day. It lead to a lot of great chats and feeling really connected to the neighbourhood. Children were a particular source of joy, sometimes wanting to sit and watch me paint, or shouting ‘wow!’.

I also had the pleasure of seeing my client Jiayan and her family as they walked past and checked in on my progress. I had previously painted this mural in their home, so it was lovely to see them excited about this new piece of artwork. It was a really friendly and wholesome experience that brought the neighbourhood together. The murals sparked conversations, brought the Prospect Heights community together and transformed a dull intersection into a public art gallery, created with lots of love!

The completed Prospect Heights bird mural

Below you can see the completed bird mural. I was really pleased with this one, it’s a solid piece for two days and thanks again to Washington Walls for the lovely opportunity!

See the bird mural in my portfolio

Looking forward to more animal and community murals

I’d love to create more animal and community murals across Brooklyn and Manhattan, whether for a school, nonprofit, neighborhood organization or public-facing business. If you’re considering a bird, wildlife or nature-inspired mural for your space you can explore more of my murals or get in touch to discuss your project.

Painting a bird mural for a community project in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn