“I wanted to include borders but they insisted that we go all the way to the bottom and all the way to the top,” Detweiler says, “I don’t know how many square feet that is but you guys can get a math major to figure that out. It would have probably taken us several weeks.”
With artist Bill Maul, who had previously helped Detweiler in Davis, the professor set to work, spending a whole day just sketching out the design. The duo even borrowed a lift from the building owner to complete as much as possible. It was the following Saturday though, when the magic happened—and a team of Detwiler’s former students joined in for a full day of painting: Kristen (Rieke) Morabito ’11, Melina Ramirez ’12, Clare Nauman ’11, Armando Portillo ’11, Charlotte Allen ’11, Kathryn Fraser ’10, and Luke Bartel ’96.
“That part was just so enjoyable for me, being able to work with my students,” says Detweiler. “And the idea was not to get their labor but to give them some experience in seeing what something that big takes to get done and knowing a little bit about the preparation and the whole process. If I had just done it by myself, it would have just been work.”
One element of painting in public: You hear from your audience as you work. Neighbors commmented on how much they loved the color and human element the mural brings.
“Even the mortuary across the street really liked it, and they are asking us to do something now,” Detweiler adds, “There was one guy, I think he was drunk. He said he preferred the brown wall. I told him to get lost.”
Detweiler’s mural can be found at 1041 Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen along with his second painting on the side of Starbucks.