Featured Local Artist - June 2011

Margo Mullen   Art from the start Born and raised in Sacramento, Margo Mullen began her art career at the age of four when she won an international art competition for the cover of a…

Margo Mullen

 

Art from the start

Margo Mullen in Natomas Family JournalBorn and raised in Sacramento, Margo Mullen began her art career at the age of four when she won an international art competition for the cover of a children’s magazine (See right – Don’t be confused! The newspaper misspelled her name; “Mullen” is correct).

At 18, she moved to the former Fort Ord to obtain a degree in Public Art at California State University, Monterey Bay. Her art has allowed her to travel throughout the United States as well as Canada, Europe, Mexico, and Barbados. In 2008 and 2009, Margo was a showing member of the International Encaustic Artists, attending two of their retreats held in Carmel Valley as well as the Fourth Annual Encaustic Conference in 2010.

Margo’s work, usually rendered in acrylic and encaustic, is constantly evolving, however, she is most drawn to abstraction. She currently works from her studio in Natomas.

About her work

Margo Mullen - largest encaustic to dateThough she received her degree in public art, her work takes on various mediums and scales. For the last year, she focused strictly on mural painting, but prior to that she was painting mainly in encaustic, showing in galleries and museums around the U.S. Her largest encaustic painting to date, which is 12′ x 6′ (seen at left), is currently on loan at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA.

Margo Mullen sketchingOne of the first steps Margo takes when creating public art is to tour the community and research the area the piece will be located. In conjunction with this step, she conducts interviews with residing locals to gather information and gain a better understanding of the people who will be interacting with the art on a regular basis. After she has completed her research, she creates a sketch based on the research and the agreed parameters. Once any revisions have been approved, a final painted sketch is created and mailed to the client for final approval. Once the mural has been approved and the commencement check received, the project begins.

Inspirations of an artist

Margo considers herself a process-based artist, with her process depending on the project or series being created. Each project is unique and depends on budget, subject matter, and timeline.

Margo Mullen - Self PortraitWhen asked what inspires her, Margo replies: “Gosh, I can honestly say that everything my eyeballs see is inspiring. I obviously love colors and shapes and life. I absolutely love living and creating work from life experiences and human interactions. It is the little things, too, for example, the veins on leaves. The natural world impacts my work. I come from a long line of family farmers. The energy that I can feel from other people is also inspiring. I try to stay as clear as possible to allow for inspiration to come and go as it pleases. I like to think of myself as a vessel when I am in the studio. There is a certain spirit or presence with me in the studio as I am painting, or as we are painting.”

Past works and accolades

Margo Mullen Mural PaintingDuring 2010, Margo was in intense collaboration as the primary painter for internationally renowned trompe l’oeil artist John Pugh, working on a total of seven murals at different stages of the process.

She worked on the final details and installations of “Mine Shift” located on the Del Oro Theater in Grass Valley (completed May 2010), “Currents” located at the Madera Police Station (completed June 2010), and “Swimming in the Zone” (completed September 2010) located at the Westside Recreation Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She painted from the very first stroke of the cartoon to the final installation on “Ionic Dance” (completed August 2010) located in San Bruno at Skyline College.Margo Mullen - Self Portrait

Margo’s strong work ethic was recently published in 3D Street Art which states, ‎”…Margo Mullen, a gifted young artist who has rapidly become indispensable…and… represents the future of muraling” (p48).

On February 5, 2011 she was honored by the National League of American Pen Women as the 2011 visual female artist for Santa Clara County.

 

Coming up

Margo Mullen - Work in ProgressMost recently, Margo assisted on a 275′ x 7′ mural created by Los Angeles artist Andre Miripolsky, located in Monterey, CA at the Museum of Monterey in the Custom House Plaza. The painting team worked for two weeks creating this “Urban Wave” in the heart of Monterey. The Grand opening for the museum will be June 4, 2011, 3:30pm-7:30pm.

She also has two more murals in progress, in collaboration with John Pugh: one at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and another at Speightstown (for Barbados). She also created the abstract mural that will go inside John’s trompe l’oeil mural for the Alameda Funeral Home.

In addition to her mural projects, Margo is currently working on self-portraits and mural RFQs and RFPs. These portraits are taking the skill set of trompe l’oeil that she learned from John Pugh and putting some “studiomargo” in it.

 

Community oriented
 

Asilomar by Margo MullenMargo’s community is important to her and she continuously weaves her creative soul within the world around her, being constantly inspired by people she meets, shapes, colors, patterns, nature, history, and energy she comes in contact with.

In 2007 she helped found the Octopi Collective, a multi-faceted group of young artists living and working on the Monterey Peninsula, that remains active today.

She also supports her community through donation of her time and artworks. Margo says: “It is an amazing experience to help my community with my art.” Mural painting and all public art help connect communities together, and Margo loves being a part of that.

 

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