Lally’s Board Bash - Water Is Life - 2017 - Napoleon, Ohio

Dimensions: Section one - variable height x 120’ - 1144 SF. Section two - 11’ x 84’ - 924 SF
Medium: Freehand aerosol - Montana Hardcore spray paint
Surface: Exterior primed concrete retaining wall block.

Concept: Lally’s Board Bash is an annual wake boarding competition that takes place along the Maumee River in Napoleon Ohio on the private property of one of the event’s founders. Attendance has exceeded 1000 people in its most recent years and invites fans from across the region to camp out and spectate as amateur and profession wake boarders compete for trophy’s, prizes and bragging rights. This event has gained enough attention and sponsorship to be broadcast live on BCSN, the local sports television network, and pays out hefty cash prizes to its placing competitors. My client reached out to me through a series of connections and asked if I would be willing to come and paint a massive scale mural in honor of this event and the lifestyle along the “Muddy Maumee“

The first section of the wall presented enormous challenges in terms of subject matter and surface area to paint. Typically a wall will have rigid dimensions to it and create boundaries for the subject matter that can fit inside it. The variable height of the wall as it descended down the boat loading ramp greatly affected the content I was able to create on it. The wall starts from a low height of 1’ and grows quickly up to 15’ and drops back down to 6’. The blocks I painted were staggered in a way much like a stone pyramid also, and required me to paint in between the blocks and the tops of the blocks so that the imagery wouldn’t exist solely on the front face of the block. I titled this piece, “Water Is Life“ to show an evolution of water molecules collecting and establishing the frame for the other images to sit within. The main “droplet” on the largest section of this wall shows a green scale image of a wakeboarder flying through the air behind a boat against the backdrop of a setting sun on the river.

The second section of the wall had the same staggered block challenge as the first wall, but the perimeter dimensions were more rigid. The phrase “Muddy Maumee“ is widely accepted in the region and this is visible from the nearby bridge that spans the river. The green letters possess a transparent effect, allowing the river sun set to shine through the letters.