When Brittany and Olivia got a gig to paint a truly lengthy wall at El Tacorrido on East Riverside, they knew it was a perfect space to highlight several talented lady muralists from Austin. When Britt suggested I come put a whale on the wall, I jumped at the opportunity. She’d seen me paint one earlier in the year when I had my training session with ER during my residency.
Playing off of that whale and the color concepts and dreamy wildlife I was seeing emerge from the other murals on the wall, I decided to create a happy space whale dancing through a sparkly star field. I already had purple, blue, and orange cans on hand so I built from that color palette.
Painting this 7’x8′ mural wall took around 10 hours, with two hours of concept time. I started out with a sketchbook concept and then solidified the colors of my sketch on Procreate (see Process Photos below). After the first painting session, I brought a photo of the mural back into Procreate to decide what revisions I needed to make.
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_9872.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_5553.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3046.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_9160.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_4379.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_7285.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_6277.jpg?ssl=1)
Aside from myself, this wall features murals by: Brittany | Olivia | Taylord | Autumn Maeday | Jasmine | L. Rhae w/ Suz | Doxxi | Julie Lynn | Tara Leigh Johnston | Natasha. Check out the whole wall for yourself at El Tacorrido on East Riverside!
Process Photos
![](https://i2.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Untitled_Artwork-5.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_8548.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_0531.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_9001.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_4079.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Whale_Mural_—_Rnd2.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/9BC41FAD-3755-4DE6-B46F-0EDA152E53D8-1.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_2780.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_0463.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_5891.jpg?ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/samsoper.art/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/A3A05D40-247C-4540-9556-1E049F692C30-1.jpg?ssl=1)
Please contact me for a quote, if you are interested in commissioning a custom mural for your space.