A Mural in the Making: An Interview with John Osgood

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By Alexandra Sullivan, Resident since 2017

This past spring, right before the weather shifted and the sun consistently shone, Montair Elementary was made brighter by the revamping of its front mural. The previous mural, though instantly recognizable as Mt. Diablo was faded and peeling and had lost the joy that it once brought to the incoming students each morning. Enter urban-contemporary artist and west side resident, John Osgood of California Mural Art. In this first (of two) interviews, John opens up his mind and studio to give us a glimpse at his passion and profession.

AS: What is your background as an artist?

“Before the Forefront”, 2016, 29’ x 38’, Aerosol, located at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA

JO: I grew up in Edmonds, Washington and as far back as I can remember, I had a pen or pencil in my hand. If I wasn’t drawing, I was thinking about what I would draw. It wasn’t until high school that I realized that this was a direction I wanted to pursue more seriously, which I owe to an art teacher. After high school, I kept creating artwork and attended college at Washington State University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a minor in Fine Arts. Post college I continued honing my craft and exhibiting my work in the Seattle area. I’ve created murals all over the west coast and in the UK and Spain and exhibited in multiple galleries across the US including, 111 Minna Gallery, Art Attack SF, Brian Marki Fine Arts Gallery in Portland and in Palm Springs, Center on Contemporary Art, Washington State University SEB Gallery, Todd Art Gallery at Middle Tennessee State University and more. I’ve also been commissioned by clients including Aegis, Chicago Title, Microsoft, Rhapsody, Seattle DOT, Verity Credit Union and Uber among others.

AS: How did you become a muralist professionally?

JO: Early in my career, I had a goal to create a piece of art so large is required a roller. I had even posted this goal on my art studio wall. After my wife and I started an art gallery in Seattle, I noticed that the apartments next door kept getting tagged. Knowing that murals deter tagging, my wife looked up the owner of the building, and I proposed painting a mural there. They said yes; I created the mural, and the mural is still there until this day, 12 years later. After that mural went up, I started getting requests from local business owners. Shortly after, I met a couple other like-minded artists and we created a mural business called Seattle Mural Art. When my family and I moved down to the bay area, my wife and I started up California Mural Art.

AS: What is the process like when designing a mural for a client?

JO: Each client is a little different based on their needs and the environment the wall is located in. The key information I gather initially is to find out the size, the location, surrounding environment and surface of the wall. Then I talk to clients about their vision and what they hope to accomplish by commissioning this piece of art. From there I look to see how the potential mural will accentuate the space. I look for colors in the surrounding area and I look for lines that continue off of the surface and how I can integrate them with the natural lines of the building. In addition, when the mural is public facing, I work hard to incorporate what is important to the surrounding community and key stakeholders. My favorite part is the actual installation of the mural because during this process, I get to talk to people who are in the neighborhood. Most of the time people are really excited about a new piece of artwork. Every once in a while, because I use aerosol, someone thinks I’m tagging the wall and I get to talk to a police officer.

“Heron Habitat”, 2018, 9’ x 30’, Aerosol, I created this piece in Danville last year for a client who I met just walking by my garage.

AS: Are you planning any local murals? Where else can we see some of your work?

JO: I am always ready to make murals happen. I have a few projects in the oven, and some that are still in the pitch mode. As of right now most of my mural work is in Northwest where I am originally from. The mural work that I have done in the TriValley area are in residential homes, but you can see another one of my murals at San Francisco Premium Outlets in Livermore.

Stay tuned for next month, when John gives us the inside scoop on the mural he painted for Montair Elementary School.