It's about time Phoenix sees some serious mural love. In the interest of giving credit to their artists and because we're losing track of the times we've said, "Woah, when did that go up?", we bring you Mural City, a series on the murals springing up around town -- their artists, their hosts and their inspirations.
It's 11 p.m. at the Quincy, a hidden party venue in Phoenix, and owner/artist Quincy Ross is checking out the mural his friend JB Snyder just finished in the lounge.
Snyder doesn't arrive until midnight, when the average Friday After First Friday party gets going. He says he got his start in Phoenix live painting with the Blunt Club, but also notes that his roots in street art go back to when he was growing up in Chicago and he could put up a few pieces while rollerblading around town.
After moving to Phoenix as a professional rollerblader, he landed a few graphic design gigs, but was never happy with the hours or the thought of working for someone else. That's when he decided to take his own artwork on as a full-time job.
Ross approached Snyder to do a mural in his studio/venue a few weeks ago, specifically for Friday night's party. It was an offer Snyder couldn't refuse.
He says he likes working on a large scale, and the wall was a standard, canvas size. After buying the paint and coordinating a day, he sat down, stood up, and climbed up and down a ladder for about eight hours (though Ross might tell you it took longer) until it was finished.
He says his 10-by-14 foot, spray-painted piece represents the fragments
of happiness from the past year. "It's been a really rough year for me," says Snyder. "So I wanted to make something that I'd enjoy making and also something that was warm and would make people feel happy."
