At the end of 2023, I had an unexpected opportunity: to paint my very first mural! To be honest, it was a dream I’d had for a few years, but I never imagined it would happen so easily.
It all started when I met the artistic community in Porto Cristo. Armed with my rusty German, I met Christiane. This German artist, well-established on the island, runs a gallery and works with other local artists to transform a small street into a real “Calle de las Artes”. When she offered me a large garage wall to paint, I didn’t hesitate for a second: I said yes!
The wall had been prepared by local artists. Before taking out my brushes, I prepared my little pitch in Spanish to present my project to the owner and get his green light.
My idea was to create a mural including elements that had noticed during my stay in Mallorca: a lighthouse, an iconic bird and turtle from the island, the local vegetation, and a butterfly I encountered during my hikes…
Once I got his approval, the real challenge began: I only had one week to transform this wall before leaving the island. A tight schedule that left no room for hesitation!
I start by transferring my design onto the wall using a projector. Armed with a simple pencil, I trace the outlines of the projected drawings while balancing on a stepladder.
You’d better have a good sense of balance! Since the street is very busy, we do this at nightfall to enjoy the darkness and the quiet. For this project, I chose to combine acrylic paint and Posca markers. It is a first for me: I discovered they could be used a bit like watercolors, with a touch of water, to create blurred effects over the paint.
The next step is to outline everything with the Posca markers before painting the inside; a trick that makes my work much easier. I then tackle the different elements, constantly changing positions: sitting, standing on the stepladder, sometimes twisted in odd ways… not forgetting the well-deserved coffee breaks!
I come back every day for a few hours to paint, at specific times to avoid the sun. Locals and tourists stop by, watch… and see the wall reveal itself a little more each day. It is one of the aspects I hadn’t anticipated: the power of human connection triggered by an artwork coming to life in the middle of the street.
It is time for the opening and also for goodbyes. I’m baptizing my work with a bit of water and a brush, apparently, that is the tradition! I feel incredibly lucky to have had this experience, both on an artistic level, by discovering a new practice, and on a human level.
Seeing the locals come by to share their stories, or simply watching children’s faces light up as they recognize elements of their island… that is priceless. I keep thinking about that old gentleman who came to talk to me about the Hoopoe: a bird he knew as a child and which, apparently, is far from friendly, even quite aggressive!
A big thank you to the Carreró de l’Art Porto Cristo artists’ collective for giving me this opportunity.
