Kevin Blaushild engaged Art x Love to create a large mural for his apartment. After further discussion it was clear that the greatest and most enduring value would come from a large scale painting. Music and yoga are driving passions for Kevin, so we worked on developing a concept with elements that would compliment his past, present, and future aspirations. Seeking a cosmic-level impact, Kevin trusted Mac’s recommendation of a holographic painting.
MAIZE
SCENE Magazine wanted to take their Fall festival fundraiser up a notch for University Hospital's Kids Kicking Cancer. We created a collaborative mural for the 3 day event, inviting attendees to pick a color, grab a brush, and make their mark on Cleveland. More than 300 attendees contributed to the painting. The final work is currently awaiting finalization for installation in a TBD location.
Water Garden
The Schrocks wanted a painting to replace the dark print in their dining room. We reviewed their aesthetic preferences, discussed their aspirational environment, and explored several concepts before arriving at what would become Water Garden. The painting was created in Akron and designed specifically to transport, refine, and install on site in Naples. The Schrocks love it, and have found that the complementary colors and lighting greatly enhance the feeling and movement throughout their home.
Barberton for Hillary
Following our mural production and design of Ohio for Hillary’s Akron headquarters, Art x Love was invited to do the same for Barberton.
We created one mural , designed and helped residents and volunteers create four more, and provided creative solutions for use and operations in the space.
Our murals served as an interactive backdrop to reinforce key campaign communications and values during events, and provided an opportunity for the community to share and express their support.
King of Diamonds
The Cleveland Cavaliers won their first NBA championship the year our family moved to Akron. To commemorate the occasion, we created an iconic painting to honor Lebron James and his dedication to the Akron community. King of Diamonds was gifted to Akron's Diamond Deli so that local residents could share in this unforgettable celebration.
Akron for Hillary
In the run up to the 2016 election, Art x Love was engaged to volunteer design and support of the Ohio for Hillary headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Our goal was to provide collaborative design solutions that would allow volunteers and residents to participate in the creative development and expression of the campaign.
Art x Love created one mural, designed and supported production of five others which were painted by volunteers, and developed interactive and interior design solutions for use of the entire space.
5th Street Arcades
5th Street Arcades needed a mural that could engage passersby and bring people inside, so Mac created Kaleidoscope Garden as an interactive painting with colors and shapes with shift with changes in light and perspective. It is an iconic part of 5th Street Arcades, and a frequent inspiration for selfies and children playing. Business has boomed at 5th Street Arcades since Kaleidoscope Garden was installed in 2016. If you visit it, take a selfie, follow @artxlovellc (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn), post the picture and tag #kaleidoscopegarden you will automatically entered for a chance to win one of Mac’s Kaleidoscope Bloom paintings.
Water Taxi
Cleveland Metroparks engaged Art x Love to create a mural wall that would shield construction of the new water taxi station on Cleveland’s Flats East Bank. The mural needed to reinforce the brand, raise awareness of the water taxi, and provide an aesthetically pleasing distraction from ongoing construction.
Development of the Water Taxi mural began in October of 2015, and construction finished a year ahead of schedule due to unseasonable warmth. Since the mural was no longer needed, we volunteered it as a public art solution for Edgewater Park, which was beginning to show signs of its age.
The Water Taxi mural was created as one continuous image across 32 separate 4 ft. x 8 ft. panels that would connect to form a circle. Key panels of the mural were disassembled for display across Edgewater Park.
Following installation, public feedback was highly positive and usage of the park increased annually, with many residents and new visitors expressing their appreciation of the vibrant artwork. In the years since, Edgewater Park has grown dramatically with a world-class beachfront recreation center and performance space.
Solstice (Was)
This two-piece residential commission was specifically designed for the meditation and music room of the client’s house. Each painting was richly layered with the colors, signals, and textures to inspire a great sense of peace, excitement, and discovery in the viewer.
The Solstice paintings began with a homework assignment for the client, to more clearly understand to colors, energies, and textures that best resonated with them. Based on their input, Mac began developing rich layers of oil paint to play with.
No brushes were used in the creation of these paintings, which lends a degree of mystery and tension in the mark-making and exposed layers beneath the surface. Solstice is intended to reflect the internal and external seasons of our summer and winter exchange.
Westfield Waves
Westfield Bank's executive leaders met for a strategic retreat to discuss the interests and aspirations that would define the bank's future plans for growth and innovation. One executive saved the post-its from that strategic summit and commissioned a painting that would capture this landmark moment in the bank's history. The original post-its were used to create the foundation of the painting, which was then developed using repeated text from the source material. The final painting is entirely composed of marks made from the words, thoughts, and ideas expressed during the strategic summit. The finished painting was temporarily displayed in Westfield Bank's Cuyahoga Falls branch, and now permanently resides in the patron's home. To this day, it inspires fresh points for recognition and revelation, capturing the bold and exciting spirit that marked the occasion.
Awesometown II
A client commissioned me to create a sequel to my Awesometown holographic painting, only to realize several weeks later that they wanted a different painting from the same series of work. Awesometown II was for shelved for several months to focus on the new work.
The following year, we moved to Ohio and I completed the painting as my first entry for the Akron Art Prize, which was prominently displayed at the Red Door Gallery, which sadly is no longer in existence. Awesometown II was later donated to the Boys & Girls Club of the Western Reserve and sold at auction to raise funds in support of their efforts.
Beautiful Later
CitiPond changed liquor distributors and needed artwork to replace the vintage alcohol posters that used to decorate Celsius, the heated outdoor restaurant and lounge at Bryant Park's skating rink in New York City. My brother and I each did two paintings, which were specifically designed for exterior display in extreme temperatures. To create a sense of cohesion and appeal to all ages, we agreed to focus on color, line, and shape as reflections on creative development.
Several days before the paintings went on display, Steve Jobs passed away. The title of the exhibit takes its name from Mona Simpson's quote at Steve Job's eulogy – “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”
