We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ground Floor Murals a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ground Floor Murals thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

We set out to be muralists in 2020, amidst the global outbreak of the coronavirus. We took a chance on ourselves by trusting our craft and pursuing a career in the art field. This was a huge risk being that we have never worked as professional artists prior to this endeavor, and we would not have a steady job like we have been used to. Although it was scary to jump into something we have so little experience with, we knew there would be no better time than the present to just go for it. The decision to embark on this journey was easy, though, because we were passionate enough about art and our community to be confident that we can do great things.
Taking this risk was the best choice we have both ever made. We are working hard to sustain this career path we’ve built for ourselves, but it’s so worth it as long as we can inspire our neighbors and beautify our city’s walls with images that instill pride in our communities.

Ground Floor Murals, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are Ground Floor Murals, two artists native to San Diego who have created a small business to paint murals under. We got into the art industry by jumping right in. We have always been casual artists with dreams to go professional some day. We are predominantly self-taught, but we have taken a drawing course together at City College by the amazing Wayne Hulgin. We learned to paint murals on our own by means of trial and error, and we are still learning a lot.
We paint murals in hopes of inspiring the future and honoring the past. It is our goal to instill pride in communities who need more of it, and to show care to those who need more love.
We specialize in photo-realism portraiture, and we love to depict animals and influential people who have made great changes.
Not only do we beautify walls around town, but we also provide representation for people of color and species of animals that go often overlooked.
Murals do wonders for communities as well as business. We have found that our work attracts activity for the businesses surrounding our murals and promotes fan engagement too.
What makes us feel successful is seeing families enjoy our murals. When we see kids look up at our work in awe, we know that they are feeling inspired, and we then feel like we have done our job.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Our mission is to provide our city with better representation. San Diego is filled with so many diverse cultures that need to be better celebrated. We also want to help create safe spaces for artists to thrive, and we want to help new artists acquire access to proper resources that could be really beneficial to the start of their careers.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing our work be enjoyed and accepted by the community. We paint murals because they are for the public—anyone of any background can see our art, and that is what it is meant for.

Contact Info:

• Website: GroundFloorMurals.com
• Instagram: GroundFloorMurals
• Facebook: Ground Floor Murals
• Twitter: GroundFloor_SD
• Youtube: Ground Floor Murals
• Other: For inquiries feel free to email: [email protected]

Image Credits
n/a