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424 Graham Avenue
Location Map
This Mural, the largest of three commissioned for the Graham Avenue Festival, was completed on November 10, 2007.
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Location: S side bet. Vaughan and Kennedy at back lane; East Face
Occupant: Soup Sandwich & More; other tenants
District: City Centre
Neighbourhood: South Portage
Artist(s): Sarah Collard (Collard Creations)
Year: 2007
Sponsors: Broderco Management, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ
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Sarah Collard: "I used One Shot for all three of the Graham Avenue projects, and I'm glad I did,
especially on the controller box (see 390 Graham) which was galvanized metal. It went on very smoothly
and it's going to hold up much better than some of the other paint out there. It's an oil based sign painter's
paint. It's expensive- about $30/ quart about 700 dollars I put out before work had even begun. But I felt it
was a good investment, because I wanted those Murals to last a while, and that in 10 years time the colours
will still be very bright without fading a lot. On this wall, the first coat went on the brick fairly thick and
soaked into the grooves, but the second coat went on very smooth because it was already sealed
underneath. Each section ended up with layers and gradations. I liked the feel of it as I worked, the images
became softer, and the colours became rich."
"When I designed this I really worked with composition on the size of the figures, as it would normally be
viewed, from Graham Avenue pedestrian traffic. On the right hand size is this really large figure filling the
entire space, so much so that his head and feet are cut off in the scene. On the left side you can see the
whole of the figures in their entirety and they're much more reduced in size. The closer the figure is to
you, the larger it is. It's like a triangular composition; and I liked the way it worked- to make your eyes go
around and look at the various things, from the man with the huge bass on the right, to the man at the
newsstand, to the guy with the clarinet, and so on."
"I chose colours that were from the art deco colour palette. I also chose colours that I felt go well with the
buildings around it- that tan colour, the deep purple and the mint-y green, for instance. Those colours also
played really well with the style I painted them in."
"The dimensions of the final wall space that I painted was different than in the proposal, so I had to
manipulate the design a bit to allow for the difference in proportions for an elongated length and shorter
height Mural, so I had to be careful to take this into account when I scaled it onto my wall grid. I still had
to distort it slightly, but it worked, and it was true to the original."
"I wanted to do the whole Graham Avenue Festival thing, with outdoor musicians; and I wanted to create
the desire of that area, complete with outdoor caf and the shopping, a light and lively scene; an interactive,
fun environment. The transit bus is, of course, a symbol of the area as well, as being a major transfer point.
I filled the windows in the back with bridal dresses from the shop across the street at the last minute, to
help embellish that this is a depiction of this very area. I loved those dresses and the movement of the lady
walking by with her head turned to look at them. I modeled her after one of the owner's wife. I also put in
the Twist, Price Peeler's and Soup Sandwich and More.(all local establishments) into the scene as well. I
felt good about that as while I was there these same businesses supported me and also supplied me from
time to time with things like free coffee; so that was my little token of appreciation to them."
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