OTB Portal Mural
Throw back to early May of this year, when The Big Wave and I painted the huge, back wall at OTB Discs HQ in Stockton, CA. By design, we were out there during the same week OTB was hosting a disc golf major, The Champions Cup, at Swenson Park. Best time of year to be out there, IMO.
For years, I had my eye on this wall and imagined a piece that focused on the back entry way – because whenever Oskar and I would walk through that door it felt like entering a whole new world of fun – thousands of discs to explore, disc golf on the TVs, beer on tap, laughter, shit-talking and just good vibes for days. So, the concept of painting a "portal" around the door seems fitting right?
A quick and funny side story on how Wave got sucked into the mural. Which, kinda set the "fly or die" tone for the week. We were both booked for The Disc Golf Strokes charity event hosted by Uplay Disc Golf and on our drive over to Stockton, I invited Wave to join me on the wall. Thankfully, Wave was down, even though I don't think we really knew what we were getting into. I recall a couple of moments where we both looked at each other and said "this wall is huge, WTF are we doing?".
With this loose portal concept in my head, we had about 3.5 days to complete it. We put our positive attitudes together and got busy. With KEXP Radio as our soundtrack, we improvised, laughed, problem solved and drove that clunky, lift over some gnarly, uneven cement many times over. We made it happen (Oskar as a witness). Each day would end with an impromptu after party at the shop, with a mix of pro disc golfers rolling in from their round, event staff looking for shade and a cool drink, friends, family, live music and sometimes "The Main Event". So much fun!
One of my favorite memories during this session was when it came time to add the letters to the mural. We originally we're going to go with a right angled font but it didn't feel right with the lava-lamp background. In this moment, Wave had the bright idea to make the letters mimic the background and blob them out (yeah that's a term). This decision ended up tying the whole mural together, sealing the deal on a great week of painting. Well done Wave! You're hired!
Lastly, we want to give a shout out to OTB Discs for supporting the arts, trusting our vision and including us during an already busy AF week. Ya'll have built an amazing community out there in Stockton and we're so glad to be included in it.
