There’s far more than “slinging paint”. Overall Paint Lab services collaborate with clients by contributing innovative ideas and a palpable “let’s try it!” enthusiasm to help them create incredible content in conjunction with our already eye-catching murals. A glow-in-the-dark wallscape? A lenticular wall? Trompe l'oeil? Whatever you can imagine, the Overall Paint Lab takes your ideas even further to create a singular, stunning, hand painted campaign. It becomes a work of art that evolves into a local event – both during installation and once completed – and increases agency and client ROI. Our Paint Lab team has put together a list of their five “most creative” projects, what they consider the “coolest” projects, and the best examples of how the Paint Lab works with our clients to create astonishing works of art for client brands – work that often wins awards. Here’s the Paint Lab’s fab five, each one highlighting just some Paint Lab capabilities: Glow-in-the-Dark Our wall for EA Games Star Wars Jedi Survivor in LA and NYC features fluorescent and translucent paints that glow under UV and black light, transforming from day to night. These colors draw people to the wall to watch the painting change and glow. What’s the point of having a light saber it it’s not lighted? Exactly. Lenticular Wall Ben & Jerry’s, America’s favorite ice cream purveyor, wanted to serve up unique content for Ben & Jerry’s Pint Slices, its newest product. OM Paint Lab helped Ben & Jerry’s agency, Mekanism, conceive and create a lenticular mural, the first ever in outdoor advertising. It’s like great ice cream, sweet and impossibly cool. Anamorphic Trompe l’oeil (“deceive the eye”) is the painting of an object or subject with such verisimilitude the viewer stops and questions the reality of the image. Can it be done on a scale as grand as a hand painted wall? The OM Paint Lab created an anamorphic wall with International Watch Company (IWC), and there was a 25-foot, 3D watch – the IWC Big Pilot - in Williamsburg. The Big Pilot mural is just one example of how OM Paint Lab helps agencies discover and complete the last mile for their brands, one they might not have imagined. 3D Build-Outs OM Paint Lab loves 3D build-outs. When Klarna wanted to charm dog lovers for the 2019 holidays, the Paint Lab envisioned and painted three interactive walls in Williamsburg with more than 900 dog toys. All Overall Paint Lab pieces are interactive, but the company’s 3D murals feature three-dimensional, tactile elements (“chewable,” in this case). The Paint Lab Team designs these murals for specific settings and surroundings, and every 3D build-out is an immersive experience for visitors. Scent Machine The Fanta orange soda wallscape in Atlanta features a scent machine beside an exquisite hand-painted mural. Alongside the mural’s bold blues, sunny oranges and bright whites (and a bottle of orange soda that looks like the real thing), the OM Paint Lab installed a scent machine for passers-by – by simply pushing a button people can experience the sweet, citrusy aroma of Fanta orange soda. It’s an unforgettable brand experience and an outdoor media landmark. In a world overstuffed with ephemeral digital campaigns, why not give your clients outdoor media with a big analog heart? OM painted more than 350 walls in 2022, many of them designed with enthusiastic, inspired input from the OM Paint Lab. Think you’ve got a great idea? Contact the Overall Paint Lab and see how far you can take it.

Overall Murals Summer 2023 Swag Box is here! Our deep love for art of every genre and our admiration and fondness for the work of a great many artists is what keeps us excited and inspired. We love the work we do, but we also love the work a lot of other artists do, whether it’s street art or handmade furniture, a vintage surfboard or a one-of-a-kind t-shirt, the perfect tattoo – we’re as at home in the European Galleries at the Brooklyn Museum as we are at any Williamsburg skate shop. As famed Brooklyn resident Walt Whitman once put it, we contain multitudes. One of our multitudes is our annual collaboration with artists worldwide to create hand crafted quality designs for Limited Edition OM merch to gift to our clients and painters. Once each year, our creative team researches and selects artists who understand and connect with our creative interests and company culture (artists with a similar “vibe,” if you will). We vote on a final artist, then hold a few meetings to discuss some merchandise concepts, but we give each artist creative liberty and let them run with their ideas. Once submitted to OM, we offer the artist feedback, contribute a few adjustments, finalize everything, and then our in-house creative crew will “swag it up!” "We love supporting artists, and of course, we love swag. It allows us to have fun with our brand, work with various talents from different backgrounds, and hold new perspectives and styles. " Co-founders Angel and Dmitry explain. In 2016-2017, Barcelona-based typography artist Wete created illustrated typography for OM used on our winter swag hoodies, totes, and even a promotional mural in Bushwick. In 2018-2020, Spanish artist Pedro Oyarbide, who lives and works in Madrid, created graphics for OM bandanas, sticker sheets, and long-sleeve shirts, and our Do the Right Thing mural. In 2021-2022, artist Blaze Brooks collaborated with us for long- and short-sleeve t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, mugs, and more. This year, we are thrilled to partner with Swedish artist Martin ”Mander” Ander (b. 1976), a graphic designer and illustrator based in Stockholm. During Mander's 25+ years-long career, he has designed hundreds of graphics for the skateboard industry and worked with artists such as KRS-ONE, Pearl Jam, Pixies, and Blink-182 and for brands like RVCA, Fjällräven, Vans, New Balance, and Reebok. Mander is the latest global star in the constellation of artists we’ve been developing swag with over the past few years. Mander provided designs for our signature summer inspired merch and swag that we applied to JBL Bluetooth speakers, tank tops, stamps, and a sticker sheet. We found him thanks to a graphic t-shirt he designed for Southern California clothing designer RVCA and worn around the office by one of our co-founders. Mander’s cool, detailed style and his skate-and-graffiti background are a perfect fit for us – we also love the posters he’s done for bands performing in Sweden (The National, The Strokes) and for skateboard brands. Mander’s aesthetic and branding dovetail with our culture; his designs for bands reference the posters for rock bands and music festivals in the 1960s and 1970s when it was all about peace, love, and music. Screen printed tank tops by Silky's, using signature fluorescent orange color ONLY achievable with inks using similar paint properties. The shirts work well as work wear, office wear and party wear. Mander explains, “I was tasked with creating illustrations for Overall Murals' summer swag box. The concept in the brief was "Paint Not War," which aligned with my values as a pacifist and visual artist. I searched for inspiration by looking at vintage skate and surf stickers, silver-age war comics, and old war movie posters to set the tone. I tried to find different scenarios where I could combine my two sources of inspiration, give them my twist, and incorporate my signature style of lettering. I decided to work with camouflage colors for the color scheme, which works well with Overall Murals signature orange. As a big fan of old American posters, t-shirts, and sticker designs, this project was a fun opportunity to explore.” Whether enjoying a weekend at the park or rigging yourself up a 10-story building to hand paint a mural, our custom JBL's are durable field-friendly speakers. We're thrilled about this exciting collaboration and the thought-provoking concept it brings. To help us explain it better, we enlisted the help of long-time collaborator and friend, digital artist Andrey Smirny from Computer Craphics, based in Brooklyn. The OM creative team worked with Andrey to create a design for our latest release of Painters Essentials newspaper and pins or, as we like to call them, "Medal of Honor.” This newspaper is the first of many showcasing our capabilities and summarizing the idea behind this summer's swag box. So what’s the concept, you ask? “At OM, we are on the frontlines of a battle to save the people of Earth from vinyl billboards, wild postings, and digital screens by creating exquisite, impeccable, innovative hand painted murals. By taking over more locations and with clients who choose hand-painted wallscapes for unforgettable out-of-home advertising, we can improve upon and preserve a timeless tradition and delight passersby wherever we paint a wall.” In other words, we want to kill the pixel and prove the power of paint. We’ll see you at the merch table later this summer. When it’s free, take three!

As younger generations are pedaled to a virtual life, older forms of technology are coming back. This begs the question, will humans fully stray from their analog roots? These days, it's common to witness high school and college-aged individuals rummaging through vintage shops or eBay, where they gravitate towards grainy digital point-and-shoots and even Nokia flip phones over relevant iPhones. Likewise, the New York Times highlights The Hottest Gen Z Gadget is a 20 year Old Digital Camera suggesting we may be in with the old and out with the new. At Overall Murals, my role as the Visuals Manager involves multiple hours on the busy city streets of New York. During the week, you can find me photographing our murals in Brooklyn and Manhattan, where I can't help but notice Gen Z and Millennial-aged New Yorkers taking out old-school cameras to snap a shot of their friends' outfits or capture lo-fi photos of classic SoHo side streets and even our murals. I’m guilty of packing my old cameras to take with me to photograph our paint team hand painting large-scale ads for our clients. There's more of a connection when I start shooting with my little Pentax camera instead of the latest Canon DSLR. The analog approach slows my photographing process and demands that I pay attention to every detail of the hand painting process that would otherwise get lost when I have unlimited frames to fire off with a 1TB SD card. The return of older photography methods is a similar life cycle in how hand painted advertising has risen in the last five years. Many people believe hand painted outdoor advertising is a new concept. But it's an age-old tradition that has reemerged in the last ten years. In fact, my late grandfather made his living as a billboard painter from the late 60s to the early 90s. I don't think he could have ever predicted his grandson would be working in a thriving industry of hand painted mural advertising 30 years after he hung up his brushes in 1993. It was the rise of vinyl advertising that eventually made his job obsolete. Today, as Overall Murals goes into its 13th year, we are happy to be part of a movement where a practice we thought was once dead is now alive and thriving. Due to the rise in social media, people see the value in our unique product and process that connects with the audience on a human level over the new-age vinyl and digital billboard. Passerby's witness the ad painted by talented artists and can appreciate and admire the final product with this extra context. To be clear, this isn't a stand against advanced technologies; both can and should coexist. I couldn't imagine living without our iPhones, the "swiss army knife" of our time. But it is no secret that most society craves a break from our hyper-digitized lives. I believe this same sense of "slowing down" is connected to the trends of old gadgets iGen prefers, a generation who may not remember a time when their lives weren't completely pixelated. Maybe our future will look more familiar than we think.

Meet Ariana. She's an apprentice painter at Overall Murals, known for her infectious smile and positive attitude, and has quickly become a valuable team member. Her dedication to the job, passion for the arts, creativity, and energetic personality bring life to every project she works on, making her the ideal walldog. Seven years ago, she came to the United States from Caracas, Venezuela. Since then, Ariana has been using her talent to create incredible hand painted murals nationwide. Ariana Villar joined the OM team a little over a year ago as an apprentice. Since then, she's been a part of producing some of our most memorable murals to date. You may have seen some of her meticulous line work for Hendrick's Gin, soft blends in Google's Shopping holiday campaign, and handiwork from one of our many murals for the award-winning Amazon Music's Breakthrough Artists campaign. Ariana has grown into a vital team member because she has no problem tackling any obstacle and is always eager to take on new challenges to push herself creatively. Hear #herstory: How did you become a muralist? I grew up in a very artistic environment. My mother is a painter, and my father is a photographer. So I was constantly surrounded by their creativity and passion for the arts, which encouraged me to develop my creativity at a young age. I studied graphic design and visual arts in Venezuela. I have two careers as a graphic designer and a muralist, allowing me to express my creativity differently. But nothing compares to the feeling of holding a brush and creating art with paint—that's my passion. It’s ironic because muralists aren't part of the culture in Venezuela. You typically see more graffiti artists. When I arrived in the United States, I started to see massive murals, and I was fascinated by the idea of creating art on such a grand scale. I’m an individual who likes “el reto,” which means the challenge. Jumping on my first large mural, sure, I was intimidated by the size, but I felt a rush of excitement stepping out of my comfort zone. It’s rewarding to figure out how to translate a paper-sized sketch onto a massive wall. How does Venezuela affect your work? Being from Caracas, Venezuela, I had to learn to be flexible, resourceful, and creative with my art. It was important to me to find ways to express myself despite not having the supplies—it pushed me to think outside the box. I learned to repurpose materials and experiment with different techniques, which translates into my approach to tackling challenges. I grew up around a lot of nature; in my case, I grew up with many birds—different colors, different sizes, and different sounds. So the symbol of freedom resonates with me a lot, and it just became integral to my work. It reminds me of Venezuela. It reminds me of home. Why do you think art is important to society? I don’t want to say art is everything, but art really is everything. It gives meaning to everything, especially in a world where people are often disconnected from their emotions and the world around them. Growing up, my dad told me, “If the art made you feel something, it served its purpose," and I always carry that with me. How has working at Overall Murals influenced your creative experience? Has it improved your art skills? I'm always looking for ways to improve my art. Working for Overall Murals has helped me develop and advance my skills because I get to work with other muralists and learn new styles and approaches to mural painting. This company allowed me to expand my knowledge and hone my craft so I could grow as an artist. Watching my coworkers' dedication to their art has been a constant source of motivation for me, and it holds me accountable. It reminds me that I need to keep pushing myself to grow and pursue my passions with the same dedication. I’m happy to surround myself with artistic and passionate people at OM. What advice do you have for women looking to get into the hand painted advertising industry? I advise women to be confident in their skills and not be afraid to assert themselves in a male-dominated industry. We bring a unique perspective and approach to the industry, which is really important to showcase. It's a lot of work, physically and mentally, but it's incredibly rewarding because we're always going to get the job done at the end of the day. Why do you think it's crucial to have more women, and specifically women of color, working in this field? Inclusivity. It brings diverse perspectives and experiences that can lead to more innovative solutions and ideas. Women bring unique skills and strengths that often get overlooked, but we add that special touch that can make all the difference. I'm very proud to be Latina and work for Overall Murals. They prioritize inclusivity and diversity and value the contributions of individuals from different countries and cultures, which is really important to me. I’m passionate about what I do, and I want other women to know that their voices and ideas are valuable in any industry they pursue.

A Day In the life It's 6:00 AM. You roll out of bed, rub the gunk out of your eyes and quickly look for yesterday's pants. Smell your t-shirt, hope it doesn't smell too much like yesterday's paint, get ready for the long day outside, and walk out the door. You look for a place to sit on the train. You get lucky. You put your headphones in and escape the 45-minute commute before you find yourself in the heart of SoHo. Then, up the stairs into New York streets, there you are. A mural painter, more specifically, a walldog. And there they are. Your paint crew, in front of a large wallscape in matching paint-covered clothes. You all have one mission, to recreate the 20 x 10 artwork in your hands into a 1,000 sq foot hand painted mural. You have 4-5 days. This is what it takes to be a walldog at Overall Murals. Remember when your teachers would drill into our heads, "Practice makes perfect." Well, we hate to admit it, but those teachers were right. We can only grow as a company if we improve our skill set. We need to pause and reflect on where we are to set intentions on where we want to go. The same applies to our painters. As the New Year rolled in, we (and as many of us do) set goals for ourselves. What are your goals for this year? We'll go first! One of our primary goals is to take our entry-level mural artists and sign painters to the next level through our 2-year Apprenticeship program. We want to leverage the knowledge and wisdom of our most experienced painters and veteran walldogs and implement a process that improves our apprentice's techniques to become successful muralists. When we break down the initial fundamentals of a successful walldog, the most common ones are lettering, graphic application, and managing different blends. Our senior staff worked alongside our production team, where they created a weeklong crash course on teaching and reviewing those fundamentals, starting with our lettering course. LETTERING We formalized a lettering workshop to help our apprentices better understand how to best paint straight lines, smooth circles, and lettering forms in general. They learned the paints consistency and how to apply it with the right paint brush to different wall textures to achieve the desired effect of clean brush strokes. There are a variety of typefaces that can determine what kind of brush our painters will use and their technique. For example, the tiny text at the bottom of advertisements we tend to ignore is mandatories. The text is so small that it requires a single-stroke approach with the tiniest brush. In our workshop, we outlined the little things like this to prepare each painter for different typeface scenarios on the wall. There are many, many, many levels to our lettering workshop. People can spend years just mastering lettering, and we want to invest in our newer painters so in time, they can be masters of their craft. Blending Our painters took a one-day crash course in blending, where they learned about textured blends, vertical blends, and radial blends. You're probably thinking, why all the different options? Well, the product's shape in the artwork can determine which blend achieves the most realistic effect. For example, the blends in a cell phone ad use a linear blend, while a Coca-Cola can use a cylindrical or sphere blend. There are levels to how complex blends can achieve the desired effect. We worked with our painters to orient themselves with a target outcome and provided fundamental techniques to blend so that they knew how to accomplish their goals when we took them to practice in the field. RIGGING Our painters endured a full-day workshop where they learned how to rig a wall. They understood how to create a good plan for rigging, taking into account a variety of variables. They started with a zoomed-out point of view of the whole process and broke down each step before we took each painter through each step a few times. Each painter learned how to pull up gear safely, tie a knot, and assemble a rig. At the end of the class, all the painters attempted the block and tackle rig system, a considerable feat when there are no motors involved, just weights rope and the strength of each individual pulling themselves and the platform they are standing on to reach the murals facade. "It's not just painting a wall." One of our senior painters explained, "There's a whole pre-production before we can even get to the wall and begin painting. So it's essential to get everyone on our team involved in the WHOLE process to Truly appreciate our work. And this is true! The week-long course load developed a level of comfort and camaraderie among our painters. They learned every stage of the process and became comfortable with it before they got to the wall. Through this process, we learned that everyone has a different level of painting experience, teaching methods, and leadership styles. This brings us to our next goal... Sourcing feedback from everyone involved so we can evolve the curriculum and our teachers, leaders, and painters can perform at their highest level. As we keep the tradition of hand painted outdoor advertising alive, we hope you have a better understanding of the work that goes into hand painting each mural. That way, when you see us hanging from a building ten stories up, you can say, "Wow, Overall Murals, you tackled that rig!"

With Out-of-Home advertising spending projected at more than $8 billion for 2023, Digital Out-of-Home Advertising is the leading form of engaging consumers for the new year. That’s why it’s no surprise that brands have integrated mobile technology through hand painted murals to provide an enhanced user experience that allows for a multi-prong approach to advertising campaigns. Digital integration offers an innovative opportunity for immersive advertising, where brands can incorporate creative and engaging ways to interact with current and potential consumers. We’ve seen this firsthand! Over the past two years, we’ve partnered with clients to paint advertising where mobile integration was incorporated directly into the mural design. We’ve found that our hand-paint method is perfect for capturing the attention of people passing by. Still, by adding the digital integration, we expanded the campaign’s breadth by giving people direct ways to interact using the mural as a springboard. One of our most impactful collaborations last year was with Google for their tech brand’s latest campaign, “Find That Thing,” Google sought our craft by having us paint six wallscapes in neighborhoods targeting a younger generation of hip and artistic audiences. The murals allowed passersby to “search what you see” by utilizing Google’s visual-based feature, Google Lens, which enables the audience to scan objects from the murals in real time. This compelling concept grabbed the lenses and phones of four million people who were intrigued enough by our hand painted mural to scan what they saw. During the summer of 2022, we teamed up with Doritos on their #SolidBlack activation, an ongoing initiative to provide resources and a platform for Black Changemakers to drive culture and give back to their communities. Doritos wanted a mural to increase awareness and allow people in those communities to engage with the brand in an artistic and meaningful new way through mobile integration. So we painted a Snapcode on the mural so passersby could scan the QR code and use the Snapchat app to bring the artwork to life with additional AR components. This dual advertising campaign allowed Doritos to interact directly with prospective and current consumers and increase awareness around the brand and their work outside their for-profit business. Brands have also found success by utilizing QR codes as a simple and effective way to promote themselves and produce quantifiable results. For example, we painted a scannable QR code on GoPuff’s mural, targeting young professionals on the go. During their mural campaign, the QR code directed over 575,000 city dwellers directly to the app store to add GoPuff’s grocery store app to their phones. While we pride ourselves on captivating the community while we paint and stopping them in their tracks, QR codes are a way to seal the deal for brands looking to turn audiences into active fans. Overall, our mission is to evolve our craft along with the advertising world and create relevance to hand paint's artistry by bridging it with the power of technology. We can cater to audiences IRL and online without giving up what makes Overall unique and rooted in a vibrant skillset that continues to capture audiences and advertisers. So let us help you bridge the gap between traditional out-of-home and online by engaging consumers with a combined effort that yields tangible results without sacrificing the creativity and design people love to see.

Meet Jaclyn. She is the Real Estate Acquisition Manager at Overall Murals. A typical day for her is non-stop phone calls, negotiating deals, and signing up new OOH walls that our team of painters can transform into beautiful murals. From Tribeca, New York to Lincoln Park, Chicago advertisers like American Express, Burberry, and TikTok have taken a liking to the walls Jaclyn is bringing to our landscapes. Jaclyn joined the OM crew two years ago after leaving a male-dominated Real Estate firm where she felt second and unappreciated. Now, at Overall Murals, Jaclyn feels at home and supported by her team after facing adversity in her previous roles. We sat with Jaclyn and asked her a few questions about her journey and her advice to other females coming up in the Real Estate industry. Hear #herstory: What does women’s history month mean to you? Women’s history month means having confidence in being vulnerable and willing to share your experiences with others. In doing so, we are inevitably creating a space for the future generation to be free of fear. How do I know this? Because it was me who exercised vulnerability just a year ago. I wrote an article for WHM where I shared a personal experience where I faced adversity in the real estate space. By allowing myself to be vulnerable in sharing my story with my fellow coworkers at Overall Murals, I was able to create a space where I feel supported and creative as I pursue a career that fulfills me. Now, 12 months later, I have achieved so much personally and in my career working alongside a fully female-led real estate team. Growing up, was there someone in your life that inspired who you are today? What was it and why? When I made my career transition back in March 2018, from teaching to real estate, friends and family often questioned my decision. They asked, “Why, when you have a stable career, take such a drastic leap by leaving it to pursue Real Estate – an industry that has a ‘no guarantees’ mentality” reputation?” rust me I was asking myself the same question. But as I step back from my fears and reflect on what drove my decision to leave teaching for Real Estate, I think about my mother who raised me and my 3 sisters as a single parent. When times were tough on our family, my mother took a leap of faith leaving all that she knew to move all her children to a new place where she felt we could have more opportunities. As the sole decision-maker for our family, my mother constantly overcame adversity by staying determined even when it could have been risky. So when I think about why I took a leap of faith to change industries and pursue a career that was deemed difficult, I think back to my mother’s leap of faith to create a space that supported her and her children’s needs. That’s why I confidently dove into something new, where I too hoped to create the space for a better future for myself and for those around me. Why did you choose to become a Real Estate Acquisition Manager? In many ways, I feel like this role chose me. I have always been a go-getter, once I set my eye on the prize I work relentlessly to make it happen. My ability to connect with people and celebrate shared experiences, be vulnerable, and be honest has yielded great results and I am excited to have continued growth here at Overall Murals. What do you like most about your role? As the manager of East Coast acquisitions, staying connected is a huge part of my role. As I discover and identify potential sign spaces, it is imperative that I build relationships with our current and prospective partners to build rapport and secure great sign space. Every time I secure a new wall, I get excited to be part of its transition. For example, our newest acquisition is located in Lincoln Park, Chicago. The facade of the wall had two tones of paint, the bricks were deteriorating and the wall became a bit of an eyesore. Our team revived the wall by repainting it and securing the brick exterior to look brand new and clean for future advertisers. Now, what was once a forgotten vinyl display is now a beautiful photo-realistic hand painted Burberry campaign seen by people driving by in their cars as they pass through to play and shop. In the end, I work hard to find beauty in the walls that may otherwise be overlooked. I secure said space for Overall Murals so we can do the work to transform it into a beautiful hand painted mural. Why is it important that more women are represented in the real estate field? ​​This question cannot be explored without first discussing the representation of BIPOC identified women in the real estate field. I hope that the value of women, all women, in the real estate space, residential, commercial, and out-of-home advertisement, isn’t just remembered every time March comes around. It is important that every month, we continue working to forge a gender-equal mindset and challenge the status quo. As a female-identified professional in the field, calling out and challenging racial stereotypes, bias, and gender assumptions are imperative in creating positive visibility for women in this field. What piece of advice would you give to women in Real Estate? I would like to let women in Real Estate know that they are enough. Their feelings and experiences are valid, and compromising oneself in order to further your career is not worth it. In my previous role at a brokerage in Williamsburg, I came close to forgetting who I was in order to appease a male-dominated office. That experience reminded me that I did not have to accept the status quo. Being successful is very important to me, but listening to my gut and drawing a line, even if it’s the path of most resistance, was the best decision I have ever made for my personal and professional growth.

What does it mean to receive artwork made to fit the wall? Let us paint that picture for you. When a client approaches us for an outdoor mural advertising campaign, we take them through our inventory of walls where together we settle on the perfect option(s) to meet their objectives. We then provide them a spec sheet that gives them all the details about each wall’s size so that they can then begin brainstorming artwork for their future hand painted advertising campaign. Then the creative process begins! If we had to imagine what a client’s creative team’s brainstorm session looked like… we envision it’s something like this; A group of like-minded good looking individuals, huddled around a fish tank table, topped with a big hookah. The team sits in swings in the smoke-filled room and scribbles ideas onto Post-it notes, which they crumble and dunk into a basketball hoop. The first note that makes the basket, wins. Or is that not what creative agencies’ brainstorm sessions look like….? Probably not. But whether there is a fish tank table or not, there’s always an opportunity for something magical to come out of those brainstorm meetings. Whether the agency is ideating artwork for a liquor brand or a designer watch, what we’ve found most successful is when the design is meaningfully created with our specific walls (the size, orientation, neighborhood, height, etc.) in mind so that the final product becomes an eye-grabbing, mouth-gaping, picture-taking mural that screams “ROI!” What does a mural hollering ROI look like? On the west coast, located on the cusp of Silverlake and Echo Park in Los Angeles on Sunset Blvd., we have a uniquely shaped wall that features a curve in the architecture. This has become THE choice amongst a lot of liquor clients from Tecate to Cazadores. These clients took advantage of the building’s natural 3-D contour to make their product look as if it was jumping off the wall and ready to be served. (Can you say, “Great service?”) Passersby headed home after a long day at work or looking for a reason to celebrate, will pass this intoxicating mural art and eagerly check into the liquor store located right down the block. And bam, ROI! On the East Coast in New York City, we have every hipster-loving Brooklyn lover sporting or at least drooling after the latest IWC watch in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. How did we do that? The IWC artwork was specially designed to create an anamorphic perspective. On our double wall corner unit, we created a 3-dimensional shipping container showcasing their newest watch design, The Big Pilot. The artwork looks as though the watch was hand-carved out of the Swiss Alps and shipped over to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, waiting to be worn by anyone willing to sport a 20-foot tall watch (and yes, that’s a challenge). When artwork is created with the wall(s) in mind, it shows a creative’s attention to detail and thoughtfulness in considering the passerby’s (prospect’s) overall experience of the brand promoted. The care ensures the client’s brand gets a one-up in the impressions department. It also brings life to the work we do at Overall Murals, from the wall to a person’s eyes, their mind, and yeah, their soul! When our team of highly skilled and influential painters prepares to paint a client’s artwork, they too find enjoyment in translating a design from the computer screen and a small printed proof in hand to blowing it up into a large-scale mural. Better yet, when they are fans of the design, they will have a deeper desire to enhance and produce something that’s even more spectacular than what was initially digitally created. This drive for greatness is validated when people pass by and shout: “Who is this mural for?” “When will the mural be done, would love to come back for the final” “You’ve made my day with this mural!” “Wow, that’s incredible! Can I take a photo?” (Side note: actual responses captured by our murals) The artist is inspired by such responses; it’s an acknowledgment of the long hours they spend replicating the artwork, which includes days on their feet, strategizing, mixing paint, and hand painting the creative’s vision – all on a tight deadline. In the end, there’s the gratification they feel when they have accomplished the mission and delivered the final product, especially when it’s something as impressive as the murals below: That’s what’s incredible about paint. The public enjoys the process, the big reveal, and a piece that really stands out. So, next time you find yourself huddled around a fish tank table, swinging back and forth, in the hanging chairs, shooting ideas into a basketball hoop, think about what kind of artwork will have your brand or your client’s brand represented with the best return. Think, what will get an influencer snapping their Maltipoo who just happens to have more followers than you, posing in front of your mural and tagging your brand? Think you have an idea for one of our walls? Shoot us a message (or Post-it). We’re ready for your next great artwork to come through our doors and onto our walls. Check out photos of our work with clients Rigoni, Chase Sapphire and Milagro.

How OOH has Become a Major Platform for Cannabis Advertising Look who’s legal now? Cannabis, that once taboo, demon weed, left-handed cigarette, reefer madness, devil’s lettuce (well you get the picture), is making a huge splash in OOH advertising. Legal in 17 states (most recently New York), the farming, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of cannabis is big business. Sales are skyrocketing, especially during the pandemic as people find that in addition to toilet paper and hand sanitizer, cannabis is an essential business. And at the heart of this business, like any other, is brand building. Building these new brands has kept Overall Murals busy (painting, that is!) for established cannabis labels like Dosist, Cresco, Kiva, Eaze, and Monogram, and for the expected surge of new brands as markets expand. OOH Advertising + Cannabis = Big Business As cannabis legalization rolls out across the US and demand for products increases, so grows the need for cannabis branded advertising as manufacturers and distributors seek to gain market share. The issue is, how and where to advertise? Overall Murals team of highly skilled Real Estate pros understand how to operate within the many and complicated state regulations and take every precaution when scouting out the right locations for legal cannabis advertising. Why is OOH Right for Your Cannabis Brand? A 2020 MarketingSherpa study discovered, “69% of the 1,200 Americans surveyed saw OOH as a trusted advertising channel, as compared to social media (43%), online banner ads (39%) and mobile phone ads (39%).” (Cannabis Business Time). The research indicates that consumers respond more positively to OOH advertising than digital outlets which some find annoying and intrusive. They report that OOH advertising gives them a welcome break, especially for those of us who spent most of 2020 too glued to our screens (guilty!). Add to that, businesses are reopening, the weather is improving and on every corner, there are restaurants filled with happy diners in outdoor seating. And we can assure you, it’s best to avoid vinyl that is likely to fall into someone’s eggs benedict and to choose the craft and entertainment that comes with watching painters hand paint a mural – how about them impressions? OOH is Interactive Check out the photos we have captured for our clients. Better yet, see for yourself, the foot/bike/car traffic and how often passersby engage with our painters to talk about the process and most importantly, the brands! It’s OOH marketing at every stage of the Overall Murals production process. Consumers regularly stop our painters to ask, “What is this ad for?” “Is that really hand-paint?” “When can I see the final product?” OOH delivers for Cannabis The beauty of OOH is that it’s impossible to miss. It’s part of the scenery – not an annoying pop-up on a screen or phone. Crafted by hand, painted by real people, in plain sight, Overall’s OOH murals communicate authenticity, art, and hipness, creating a strong connection between the brand, brand message, and consumers. What Creative Trends are Emerging in Cannabis OOH Advertising? It sounds self-serving but it’s true. Demand is up for hand paint cannabis advertising because the message delivered is human-centered and personal. Check out the most recent mural we did for Jay-Z’s brand, Monogram. Monogram’s marketing is a clear example of the direction new cannabis lines are taking to promote their products. The message is a human-centered art direction to help normalize cannabis. As Shana Hayne of Hearst Bay Area explains, “Two things we’ll see more of this year [in cannabis advertising] are hyper-local tactics and humanizing storytelling”. This is evident in Monogram’s advertising. Jay Z uses his platform and cannabis brand to amplify the voices of those who have been penalized by a national drug policy that negatively targets the lives of black Americans through storytelling. Our client Pax took a humorous and relatable approach to advertise their Vape pens with a one-liner that combines a homey, family, Thanksgiving tradition and a hip-in-the-know smirk. OOH Works Hard for Cannabis How do we know? We see it ourselves in the growing number of clients who rely on our murals to build brands and deliver business through an unfolding mural. They rely on our murals’ ability to provide their brands with a people-accessible platform to get their names and stories out there. So… what are ya waiting for? Pass the brushie to the left-hand side. Let’s paint!

Meet Marcine. She’s what in our business is called a walldog and she’s been doing it for the last 8 years! She is also one of the only highly experienced female wall dogs still working today. On top of that, she’s a strong rigger and paints for us, here, at Overall Murals. You may recognize some of the work she’s done for us like Carnival and Carmax, where she can be seen on her feet for as long as 10-12 hours at a time, through rain or shine, and always producing high-quality artwork for our advertising clients. Marcine shares, “As a woman, Overall Murals has been awesome to work at. They are all-inclusive and I feel like I am part of the Overall team.” And we couldn’t agree more. Marcine is a huge contributor to the OM team and we are happy to take the final day of Women’s History Month to acknowledge her contribution and success in a male-dominated industry. Hear #herstory: How did you become a wall dog and how has your experience been? I was running a bar on the Lower East Side in Manhattan on Allen and Delancey. I was part owner and bartending for 22 years. I walked outside and saw a bunch of guys painting on the side of a wall and thought, “This is what I want to do!” I moved to Philadelphia, where I worked at the Philadelphia Mural Arts Organization for about a year, and then moved back to NYC where I tried to force my way into the industry. It took me 4 years to even get an interview before I could get my foot in the door to become a wall dog. Why painting? Why not? Every day you are making something pretty awesome and the whole experience is amazing. Every wall I am working on, even if it’s terrifying I am having a blast. Last week, I worked on a wall in Venice that had the most difficult block and tackle rig I’ve ever been on. Every day I went to work, knowing this rig was frightening, yet, I still felt excited to show up. What would be your dream project? To be honest, any pictorial or completely insane works like a movie poster. The last mural I did with Dan Cohen and Dylan Dingle in San Francisco, for HBO’s new show Generation, was completely enjoyable. It just doesn’t feel like work. For other females breaking into the hand paint mural industry what type of advice would you give them? How I got where I am today, is by putting myself into situations that were pretty terrifying. But, looking back, I see that those experiences were important because I learned something about myself. However, you can’t expect everyone to feel the same way. So I recommend doing what you love, don’t let anyone pressure you to do something you don’t feel comfortable with, get yourself to a place where you are comfortable, and always try to learn. Through this process, always stay humble and leave your ego at the door because we are all in this as a team. Who would you say is your biggest influence? Marylin Minter. When I was studying for my undergrad at San Francisco Art Institute, I went to the MOMA and saw what I thought were sea prints but were actually enamel on a panel. I was losing my mind looking at her painting, I ended up staying for hours. I thought, ”I have to do this!” I am also inspired by artists like Dan Cohen and Eddie Lopez who I’ve worked with at Overall Murals. These guys have been in the industry for so long and have been great teachers, who I have learned so much from. They What is something that is memorable that sticks out to you that influenced your choice to make this a passion and career? Honestly, every job I get to do at Overall Murals is a ton of fun, the artwork is always awesome and everyone I work with is amazing. The time I was working with Elio Martinez, who I’ve been working with for 7 years, at a Jack Daniel’s mural on Melrose. I was like I get to work with my homie, I get to rig a block and tackle wall, all to get the job done. It’s always a good time and all of my experiences have been memorable. are amazing people, helpful, humble, and just awesome. What is your goal professionally? Where do you see yourself moving towards? Professionally I am inspired by the guys I work with who are in their sixties still doing this. That’s the goal – to keep hanging off that wall. What kind of art do you most identify with? Anything photorealistic or hyperrealistic. I have to say that something that goes along with my art is a piece I did with Chris Slaymaker for Carmax, painting a Mini Cooper with a psychedelic background. That’s the closest to my own art – bright colors with photorealistic vibes to it. What role does your work impact society and/or what do you hope it does for society? The work that we do at Overall murals is amazing because to the outside world, they think we are just painting ads. But it’s not just that. In fact, you are creating something that brings attention to the process. We take a 2-dimensional space and make it 3-dimensional by having us working on the wall. We also care about what we are creating. Our work goes beyond the wall, and it’s rad that people get to see just that. I always make sure to take time to interact with people walking by because they too are part of the process. Thank you Marcine for sharing your story with us and here’s to hanging off the wall for many more years to come!

It’s hard to imagine my life not being consumed by murals. Through my nearly five-year career in the outdoor advertising industry, I have gained an immeasurable amount of appreciation for the old-school niche of hand painted advertising and now, I know the industry like the back of my hand. Before working at Overall Murals, I would gawk in awe at the large painted wall outside of my old office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I vividly recall spending my lunch breaks observing the artists as they pulled up in their paint-stained jeans, brushes in hand. It was at that moment, I was hooked, curious as to what would be painted next. I spent the summer watching as panels were decorated with expertly painted photorealistic athletes accompanied by an adorable French Bulldog from the Vans ad that first caught my eye. After that was a 100-foot long painting for Ray Ban, followed by Gatorade showcasing all of Serena Williams’ grand slams. By then I knew I needed to learn more about the company that produced these incredible pieces of art. In 2016, I was offered a role at Overall Murals. In my first few months, I found myself excitedly pointing out our mural locations to anyone who would listen. My friends and family were so supportive and excited that they started to join me in spotting murals – texting photos and Instagram stories of themselves in front of our wallscapes. To this day, not much has changed. Over the last five years, I have had the pleasure of witnessing Overall Murals grow immensely. In the beginning, the office was just a small family-like crew. At that time, I wore many hats to accomplish the various jobs that needed to be done, anything from graphic design and sales decks, to hassling our painters to make their flights and stocking up the office kitchen. In 2021 we have vastly expanded to meet the interest of clients as they jump at the opportunity to incorporate hand painted murals into their advertising. Our paint shop is always buzzing with all the energy it takes to bring our murals to life. The gifted artists who work day-in and day-out, through the snow, rain, blistering heat, and even a global pandemic, are the real stars of the show. Their talent and commitment to the craft is what makes the hard work worth it. Today, I am working within the Sales department wearing only one hat (sometimes two). Providing projects, like Lexus and Varo, for artists in a field that they love is what makes me truly passionate about mural advertising. Our continued success is due to our unwavering dedication to upholding an age-old tradition of advertising that humanizes the industry. In a society glued to its screens and consumed by digital overload, we are proud to bring our passion for hand painted murals all over the country, coast to coast. Let’s highlight the common variation of cadmium green, which is often used in advertising artwork for clients, who are environmentally friendly, or outdoorsy, and earth-friendly. It’s a bright light tint that stands out against more muted colors, while still providing a fresh look and leaving viewers with a feeling of calmness and liveliness. Tell us, are you feeling more peaceful yet?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! For a holiday like today, we thought we’d celebrate the best way that we know how, by chatting about the color green. So, how does one emphasize the power of green? It’s a color that symbolizes Ireland, money, beer, and leprechauns. We’d like to start by exploring its history and how we, at Overall Murals, use it in its purest form… PAINT. The history of green and why it ain’t easy being it is long and much like some of our old Irish uncles, not always easy to follow. Now, there are a few legendary tales that can be attributed to why we wear green on Saint Patty’s Day. One is that Saint Patrick was thought to have used green shamrocks to teach people about the holy trinity. Another from Sean O’ Malley, a kid from my 3rd-grade science class who said it was because leprechauns would find me and pinch me if I didn’t wear the lucky color. The most poetic theory is referenced by William Drennen, the co-founder of the Society of United Irishmen in 1795. He referred to Ireland as “the Emerald Isle” in one of his poems describing the country’s vast leafy landscape. The verdant land was considered wealthy because it represented a fertile land ripe with gold. Fast forward to today — you may not typically see our work inside fine art galleries but our use of the color green out on the exterior canvases of buildings is quite prolific. As artists, we can’t overlook the beauty of green (from lime to olive) without acknowledging how important it is. It is a color that symbolizes hope, and it literally means money in our line of work, within the world of hand painted advertising. We’ve gone ahead and done all the research and sourced our wonderful in-house painters for their knowledge on all things green, so you don’t have to (you’re welcome). In ancient Egypt, the Egyptians believed that the color symbolized regeneration and rebirth, so they used copper mineral malachite to create the green color and adorn tomb walls. By the same token, ancient Romans utilized the color on mosaics and stained glass, while monks also painted their manuscripts green. Some of the latest ad campaigns have taken a cue from the Middle Ages, where green clothing stood for wealth and status. Balenciaga and Buchanan Whiskey stand out from the crowd to a large green degree. On a more practical level, during the Renaissance era, artists found that when painting a portrait and adding an undercoat of green to the pink would give the depth needed to make a face look more like, well, a face. In fact, we still use this method of green for our photorealistic murals to add balance and create a vivid pale flesh tone for murals like AG Jeans and Ray Ban. Let’s highlight the common variation of cadmium green, which is often used in advertising artwork for clients, who are environmentally friendly, or outdoorsy, and earth-friendly. It’s a bright light tint that stands out against more muted colors, while still providing a fresh look and leaving viewers with a feeling of calmness and liveliness. Tell us, are you feeling more peaceful yet? What’s so special about cadmium green? Well, it’s a color widely used in the hand painted industry for a reason. Cadmium green was discovered in 1817 and has long been a fixture on painters and graphic artists’ color pallets, typically under the name ‘cadmium yellow’. In fact, today cadmium green is usually a mixture of cadmium yellow and viridian to give it its bright pale green pallor. It’s best known for its outstanding high power, light fastness, and stability – withstanding fading from temperatures up to 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit. This is perfect for our outdoor murals that are exposed to UV rays 24/7. We use a variety of different faceted cadmium colors to help reduce the faded look so we can provide our clients with long-lasting high-quality colors for their murals all year round. Right about now, I bet you’re wondering, how do we make and mix cadmium green (or any color for that matter)? Well, it involves a client, a painter or two, and gallons of paint. Once, we have received hard copy art proofs from our client (or print them in-house) Overall Murals’ (OM) painters mount the proofs and protect them with acetate. They then utilize them as a reference for the paint we are about to mix. Next, the painters set up a station, dedicated to mixing all the colors up, something like the below. Also, for ideal results, it’s best if mixing is done under natural light, like outside or under a skylight. This process involves a combination of concocting varying paint colors to achieve the final one that matches against the client’s artwork, as exact as possible. So, for every green, pink, purple or every shadow and gradient presented in a given artwork, they must go through the paint mixing operation. Each color created will be dabbed onto the proofs for double-checking and where fingers crossed (or with a bit of luck of the Irish), it’s a match! Now for many, this affair could take hours even days to engineer. But for our uber-experienced painters, they have built an impressive ability to understand what colors and chemicals work well together, and can stir up dozens of custom colors in a matter of hours. Now, for what you’d read in the fine print: mixing oil paints like this is not something one should do lightly. The procedure can be toxic, and the government insists that they only be used by artists and professionals (that’s us!), so internally we take the necessary safety precautions. When OM’s muralists mix paint and brush it onto our walls, they are always wearing gloves and masks. Our studio ensures there is proper ventilation indoors and we ask that our team avoids eating near the chemicals… or eating the paint at all, cause it definitely doesn’t taste like chicken. So there you have it! Green, a color tied to history and was once used by Ancient Egyptians, is now swirled in a paint bucket in our Brooklyn-based studio. The power of green still holds true to Saint Patrick’s Day just like we hold true to our own hand paint tradition. When you see one of our murals painted with green, just know we are high up on the wall, painting and cheering for Saint Paddy’s day! Slainte!