So I was contacted by Nina from Jet.com to create a series of murals at their Burlington, NJ fulfillment center. This center ships different types of food and produce, so the main focus of the stairway mural was fruits and veggies. I tried to give the feeling of them splashing down the stairs. The next mural was the main wall in their cafeteria. The cafe already has an modern feel so I wanted to keep it with the corporate colors purple and grey. Really tried to have it look like the logo was bursting out of the wall. This mural was difficult because it is 20ft tall and there was a set of lockers with a 4-5ft space between them and the wall. Both murals were difficult to capture, but I am very please with the result.
I was contacted by Latoya thru this website. I was excited to work on her game room in her Plainfield home. Upon arriving we had a lively discussion with her husband and then we got to work. We originally planned to do one wall but we decided on doing two walls both gaming themed. The first wall was a Pac Man wall which we created a Pac Man rendition of the Family. Latoya and her husband and 4 kids (3 girls, 1 boy), it was challenging to figure out what to have them each doing and what accessories to have. We used Facebook Live to get ideas for the last few. The second wall was a classic funky graffiti wall that says “Refuse to Lose” , keeping with the gaming theme. We used mainly MTN Water based spray paint paint due to the minimal ventilation. We were very pleased with the game room.
Masaya Nakamura, a Japanese toy and game entrepreneur whose company’s most enduring creation, Pac-Man, became a worldwide cultural touchstone, died on Jan. 22. He was 91.
We were recently contacted by a company based in Northeast Philadelphia “I Like Windows” to paint a logo in their office. After meeting with the client we found out that they were a window manufacturer and wanted the logo in their newly created office. The logo was difficult to replicate because it needed to be placed above a staircase. Once the logo was done we painted the other walls with abstract patterns and designs in grey scale and warm colors to emphasize the logo colors.
The client was so pleased with the office we came back and painted an old utility van. The van was parked in front of the location as advertisement for the business. Curb appeal is everything.
When we painted the Patterns of Life Trailer for Shelley Elle. She asked us to paint the staircase to her living room in her house. After a brief discussion we decided to create a politically charged piece. We talked with he about her political views. I talked with Luis and he wanted to have more of a creative role in this project so we decided to split the responsibilities. Luis worked on getting the custom stencils together and I worked on putting together the background and design elements. We wanted to have bright colors in the background and neutral colors for the main images to really make them stand out. We really like how the finished piece came together.
I knew Debbie Schaeffer from Mrs.G’s Appliances for a few years and we always talked about doing a collaborative event. So in 2011, she contacted me about painting a fridge at an Breast Cancer Awareness event in October. We did a contest in the local schools and had the finalists come out and paint their designs on refrigerators. The event was called “Paint Fridge Pink” . It was a great event and it was really fun working with the art students at her Lawrenceville, NJ store. This year we decided to revisit the idea. We had an event at her new location and broadcast it Live on Facebook. I focused on the theme Peace, Love, Cure . The fridge will be auctioned off to benefit Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
The Danny DeGennaro Foundation and Music at Snipes Farm have partnered on The River Roots Music and Arts Festival on May 14th, 2016. When I talked with the guys from the The Danny DeGennaro Foundation about painting at The River Roots Music Festival I didn’t know what quite to expect. We wound up painting 8ft x 16ft wood panels that were next to the stage. We had it set up to glow in the blacklight. I love black lights. Kasso and Myself instantly decided to do a Jimi Hendrix Tribute. He painted the portrait and I did the lettering. I wanted to try something different so I used 60’s psychedelic posters as reference and went with the flow. it was a fun project and I love how it came out! Lori Johansson and Lank painted a satellite inspired space theme that also came out amazing.
I was referred to the Suri Family by photographer Ricardo Barros. After talking to the family they liked my series of abstract cityscapes. This was fine by me because that is the series that I am focused on and I really enjoy painting like that. After surveying the walls (one was orange, one green and three white) located in a large open room on the lower level of the residence. I was also asked to tie in a plum color that was on the cabinets. Great I knew the plum could work with the oranges and that I can add the green with blues on the complimentary side. After creating a few designs in photoshop I was able to go in a few weekends and evenings and knock the project out just in time for a big party they were having. I love working in these patterns and free flowing with the designs.
Dynamic Abstract Cityscape with Watertower
Dynamic Abstract Cityscape with bridge
Day and Night Dynamic Abstract Cityscape
Dynamic Abstract Cityscape
Detail Hydrant Dynamic Abstract Cityscape
Detail Lights and Powerlines Dynamic Abstract Cityscape
I got a call from an old friend Charmaine. I painted walls in her gym about 6 years ago. She told me that she was managing a new gym and wanted a mural to liven up one of the walls. The company sent me a mock up of what they wanted and I replicated it on the wall. This job was challenging because it was a relatively large wall 12ft x 15ft and most of the work needed to be done after hours so that I didn’t disturb the customers. Planning is very important when doing a project like this. I made sure I had all my supplies and I carefully masked the area around the wall to be sure not to get any paint where it didn’t belong. All in all it was a fun project and I’m proud of the results.
Rolled out the background orange
Roughed in the grey background
Filled in the lettering and added most of the lines
Pretty much done use bench and ladder to see scale
At Terracycle headquarters in Trenton, there’s graffiti on everything. It’s not vandalism, it’s art. And once a year, artists from all over gather for Jersey Fresh Jam to use the exterior as a large and legal canvas. Continue reading Featured on NJTV→
The Miller Fortune mural was designed and created by Leon Rainbow for Miller. The project was painted in 2 phases. Phase 1 was painted on February 24, 2014, and the Final Phase was painted on March 4, 2014
Demer and Myself were contracted to create custom pieces for the 2014 Directv Celebrity Beach Bowl. We only had 2 weeks to put the project together. We faced many challenges Including weather (20s-30s), production schedules and time to the event. We had help from the great guys at Z Signs in creating and installing custom vinyl logos (not pictured) at the event. It was a grueling 3 days of painting to complete the murals but it was an incredible event . We are grateful to have been a part of it and able to share our work with the 6,000 attendees.
Abstract City piece
Behind the Scenes of Man Caves
Finished New York Piece Collab with Demer
Historically considered vandalism, this form of self-expression can rise to the level of art
Graffiti artist Leon Rainbow’s latest mural, at Clinton and Hudson streets in Trenton, is a cityscape based on a picture he took of the city’s Roebling wireworks complex. The style is influenced by patterns that emerged while he was doing watercolor and acrylic canvases.Courtesy of Leon Rainbow
Leon Rainbow is a Trenton graffiti artist. At one time, that would have meant someone who spray-painted his name on trains. But although his work looks a lot like the aerosol “bombing” that was done in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s, Rainbow is too young to have even seen the original work. Continue reading Featured in Design NJ→
Went down to Washington, DC with my friend Bake for the Fine Lines Mural Jam. Near the Rhode Island Ave Red Line Station. I haven’t been to this jam in a couple of years and it was a great excuse to meet up with my DC homies – Decoy, 181, Tuc, Ultra and meet some new ones. The day it was supposed to be on got rained out so we went the next day. We got down around 10am and quickly went to work. I really had a good time chillin and doing graffiti …Sunday Funday! The music was fresh and there was like a hundred artists out there rockin- both Street Art and Graffiti killin a 900ft wall.
I wound up doing a “lluvia” piece which means “rain” in Spanish, it was fun and challenging to play with different letters. Especially the Double L in the beginning. But I think it came out good.
The year was 2005. Leon Rainbow and William Kasso, two local artists, collaborated on their first mural together. At the time, each artist was only acquainted for a short period; less than a year, and each of their names was beginning to rise in the local art scene. The idea came up to produce this mural while brainstorming different opportunities to evolve their work, while watching graffiti bombing videos at Kasso’s apartment. The opportunity to work together on a groundbreaking project like this was tremendous. That project was the Martin Luther King Memorial Mural.
The original mural, which was created in the 1970s by an unknown artist, was falling apart. It was simple in execution; red brushed block letters with a white background. The two artist designed the new mural with the intention on focusing on MLKs image and message.
The original wall by unknown artist
The two worked for hours…12 to be exact..in 115 degree heat. They battled a swam of bees…and a rain storm. But alas, after a full day of trails and tribulations, the wall was complete. It was met with great fanfare and press coverage. The mural put the two graffiti artist in the local limelight and got the kind of attention that most in the graffiti scene would cloak themselves from…it made there faces known.
Since ’05, many murals and projects from each passed. In the fall of 2016, the two artist, now season wall art veterans and each with international recognition, decided to redo the MLK wall, which fell to years of decay and neglect. With proceeds raised from a Go Fund Me campaign, the two artist set out to update this iconic mural yet again.
Leon focus was the background imagery and quote, while Kasso focus was on the portrait. The quote:
“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love”. This quote in particular was chosen due to its promotion of standing together in the face of evil and wickedness.”
“Its a great quote, especially in the way it promotes a healthy way of solving conflicts”, say Leon Rainbow.
Leon chose a bright red font for the quote that was balanced out by a baby blue colored sky and titanium white fluffy clouds. Kasso’s portrait centered the wall with a straight forward rendering of Dr. King, while in giant bold white and red letters, the word DREAM stretched across the right half of the mural.
This was a quick production…taking all of two days to produce. During their time working on the mural, the two artists shared tons of laughs and good vibes, no different than 11 years prior. The community response was at first, not so pleasant…mainly because they thought the artists were removing the previous work out of disrespect. Once the community dialogued with Kasso and Rainbow, did their collective fears began to ease.
The work ethic of these two artists and the energy it takes to constantly answer the call to create these masterworks is phenomenal. The neighborhood and city of Trenton owes a huge debit of gratitude to these gentlemen. Art is life and its consistently provides an outlet to many who otherwise have no voice. Its the missing positive link in a chain forged out of hopelessness. Art matters. Trenton matters. Art is the message…and S.A.G.E. Coalition is the method.
-Earlie Harrell, Director of Urban Affairs, S.A.G.E. Coalition Inc.
