Thai Elephant Mural

Nov 17

Written By

Here's a sweet mural I got to work on for a temporary space on the South Lake Union Amazon Campus. This opportunity was made possible by Urban Artworks and you all know how much I love working with them. This is for a Thai restaurant so I immediately thought of Thai Elephants , their meaning within Thai culture, and what it would mean for us to have them fresh in people's minds as an art piece. Challenge: what will that to when we think in terms of preservation, education, and overall how we interact with animals say on vacation?

When designing this mural I really wanted to paint both a mother and baby elephant. I really wanted to give the feeling of happiness, nurturing, and play. I worked on adding patterns to their black skin in the shape of circles made with tiny little white dots. I adorned the elephants with golden decorations and colorful patterned material. There are two kinds of elephants, Asian and African so I took artistic license and combined both of them because, I just love all the elephants. In all the world.

I was so dedicated to adding the circular patternsI gave myself a blister from holding the paintbrush. I knew this design element was going to be painstaking, but the overall aesthetic of the elephants is beautiful. Combined with the sheer size of them, I really hope they spark joy for the audience when viewing this mural. I also scared myself listening to Lore (podcast on folklore from all around the world) and listening to the sounds of the Inscape building at night. I wouldn't recommend that again.

And just to add a little bit of education (because I am a teaching artist) when you visit Thailand, do not ride an elephant. Often times the elephants are mistreated, have already had a long and hard life, and past their prime. Please consider visiting any one of the Elephant Sanctuaries where elephants live the lives they're supposed to. Here's the one I went to in Phuket: Phuket Elephant Sanctuary.