The Making of the "More Color, Please" Wall

When your most popular article is the Houston Mural Guide, it only seems fitting that you have your own mural, right? We thought so. And when you are making a coffee table book of Houston murals, your own mural has to be the cover, right? Again, we thought so too!

What you might not know, though, is that it was a whirlwind making all that happen! So, we thought it might be fun to share some “behind the scenes” perspectives on it all…

First of all, when we decided to start an online store, we knew that we had to make a beautiful, high-quality, inspirational coffee table book chronicling all the walls of Houston. That had been a dream idea that Maritere and I had tossed around for over a year. At the same time, we had been discussing the possibility of having our own mural (or murals – hint hint).

Side note: now seems an appropriate time to tell you about the working relationship Julie and I share… It truly is a match made in professional heaven! You see, I often describe our relationship as this: I’m an ideas person, while she is a “get sh!t done” person. Pardon the language, but it’s true! If it weren’t for Julie, most of my ideas would remain just that — ideas. She is the queen of bringing ideas to fruition. Truly she’s a master at executing projects. And I am beyond grateful for that!

Okay – enough about that. But trust me, it is relevant to this story…

Fast forward to last month… As we neared completion of our coffee table book, an idea occurred to me:

If we are making a book of Houston murals, shouldn’t our own mural be in the book? Moreover, shouldn’t our very own mural be the cover of the book?

Makes sense, right? Well, the only issue was that we were only one week away from our book being due to the publisher. Yep – seven short days. This is where Julie comes into play. See – teamwork makes the dream work!

I had the aforementioned ideas on a Friday. By Monday, Julie had gotten a tentative “yes” from the folks at FM Kitchen & Bar, which was our top choice of location for our first mural. Plus, she had arranged an in-person meeting on that Monday with the artist we wanted to paint our wall Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau.

Could it be? Were things going to come together perfectly in time to meet our book publishing deadline?

Well, when we met with Mr. D on that fateful Monday to discuss the concept, he got on board with our idea. Then came the subject of timing… He asked when we were thinking of doing this, and Julie replied, “Well, how does Wednesday look for you?” After sharing a few chuckles, we all agreed to paint our wall two days later!

In terms of artistic direction, we simply gave Mr. D our color palette and let him run with it! We are such a fan of his creativity and talents. We knew we were in good hands.

And the story has a happy ending… We painted our wall on Wednesday, photographed it on Thursday, and turned the book into the publisher on Friday!

Crazy, right? It was a whirlwind, indeed.

But, lo and behold, we have a wall and a book, and we couldn’t be more in love with both! And today we’re taking you behind the scenes of the creation of the wall, an interview with Mr. D, along with a video of the process, plus a Houston Mural Guide update! Yes, our very first video (watch it above!).

Behind the Wall

We knew we wanted the wall to be painted in the colors of our palette. As you’ve likely noticed, our dominant color is pink, followed by the rest of “our rainbow.” It’s not your traditional rainbow; it’s pinks and yellows and greens and blues and purples, and that’s just what you see in the wall.

Aside from colors and knowing we wanted it abstract, the rest we pretty much left up to Mr. D. We gave him a few inspiration photos, but once we showed him our colors and said “abstract” he just ran with it and worked his magic. And magic it certainly was.

We love how he painted a “secret message” if you will (“more color, please” of course) and let that be the launching point for his abstract art.

An Interview with Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau

There was truly no question who we wanted to paint our wall. We’ve been a long time fan of Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau, and it was really a no brainer in our minds. As well, if you’ve seen our book, he has quite a few walls in there. His work is unmatchable, and we’re honored to work with him.

We’d love for our readers to learn more about you! Give us a little background. When did you become interested in art? What inspired you to make this your profession?

Despite never going to art school, art making has always been an obsession :). At an early age (14 years old ), going back 30 years ago this year, I started my artistic journey through graffiti art in Paris France, which you can read more about here.

I have been a professional artist for 20 years and I own and operate a mural company called Eyeful Art and Murals and Designs.

Tell us about your new gallery and what people can expect there.

The new gallery (yet temporary) will be up and running through March 2018.

It is located at the River Oaks Shopping Center (1958 West Gray St, next to Brasserie 19), and is currently showing the “maDe in Houston “ exhibition, which  is a five-year recap of different art series from edgy political artwork, abstract works, and figurative and sculptural pieces made of reclaimed and up cycled Aerosol spray cans that I use in my large scale murals.

The space can also be used for events and we have artsy gift ideas, some of which are going 100% to local charity through a “Houston strong” merchandising campaign. And, speaking of events, we are actually hosting a holiday party with Carrie Colbert and team in early December, so stay tuned for more details on that.

What inspires you and your art?

Life inspires me and the people that I meet along the way play a big role .

My European upbringing and graffiti influence can be found in my inspiration and overall aesthetic, and I love colors … so, yes, MORE COLOR, PLEASE :)…. I hate blank walls.

We really only gave you our color palette and a couple inspiration shots, and said we wanted something abstract, and you ran with it. What inspired our wall for you?

I just trust my instinct and try to have fun; it shows in the end .

I also try to understand who I paint for or with. Or maybe the watermelons mules at FM Kitchen had something to do with it. 🙂

If you had to choose, who is your favorite artist and why?

Artist are very flawed people 🙂 I find it hard to admire artists, myself included.

However, I appreciate the works of many; too many to list, many are not well known. The famous ones are rarely the best ones anyways!

What is next for Mr. D?

The gallery in Houston and great events taking place there in December and, of course, my participation in “urban legends” at the Sagamore Hotel in Miami Beach the first week of December with international superstars like Banksy, Obey, Keith Haring, Space Invader, Basquiat, and more. I am humbled to be in that lineup and represent H-Town at the highest level. It’s kind of surreal, but I am just enjoying the ride,  and will keep throwing paint on walls for as long as I can!

The Process

We hope you enjoyed the video above, created by Perspective HTX! It was truly such a special, colorful, exciting, and happy day, and we’re thrilled to share it with all of you. If you’re in the Houston area, be sure to head over to FM Kitchen & Bar, and take photos in front of the wall, at the table, and around the sandbox, and be sure to tag @carriec / #morecolorplease so we can take a look and feature our favorites!

See more of our “more color, please” wall here.

Houston Mural Guide Update

And what many of you might have been waiting for, we have an update to our Houston Mural Guide! With over 10 new walls, along with other updates, it’s an update you won’t want to miss. Head on over here to check it out, and you can always access it at the top of the home page under guides.

Have a great day

And, with that, we hope you have a great day! Be sure to check out today’s look, and we’ll see you back here in the morning.