Number Please

This Mural was created by: Reynaldo Hernandez



Creative process in making the Wittenberg Telephone Company Mural

Although the mural’s design was sketched onto the panels in my Milwaukee studio, I wanted to do the actual painting on site – outdoors so the folks in town could see the painting process and progression. Even though the weather (hot sun, wind, rain, cold and fog) extended the painting days, seeing the creative painting process develop was an invaluable experience for many onlookers.

For this particular mural I wanted to play down the bright vibrant colors and try a different color palette from deep intense colors to a pastel color scheme.

Since the mural’s subject matter is technical (telephones, satellites and actual historical people), the artistic style I used was realism along with some abstract elements.

The shape of the building (which height peaks at the center) dictated a balanced symmetrical design. But to make the design more interesting I used straight line, curved angles and color theory – cool colors on the top half, and warm colors on the lower half of the mural.

I wanted to use a slight color contrast in the blues in the sky area. By doing this, the telephone receiver in the sky is barely noticeable upon first viewing (along with the telephone dial in the center background of the mural). The blues were meant to compliment the other murals within eyesight (Help Is On The Way & In Our Dreams).

This mural has a subtle brightness and a neon glow to it. This is different from the other murals in town.

Mission accomplished.