October 2017 I was commissioned through Chicago Truborn and The West Town Community Organization to create a permanent exterior mural for the West Town School of Rock location! This mural 700 sq. ft. mural took me three days to complete. I was so overwhelmed with the positive response from the West Town community as well as the entire team and students at School of Rock. So thankful to be a part of their story!
Google Interior Mural, Chicago, Illinois
October 2017 I was commissioned to create a mural in the West Loop Chicago Google Location. This location has an incredible collection of murals from local artists on all ten floors of their stunning building. I worked on the 5th floor elevator lobby for one day to create my piece. I am super honored to have art in this incredible building and for this monumental company!
LARRY FRANK Art Collaboration, Memphis, Tennessee
While I was in Memphis for the 2017 "Paint Memphis" event... a few Instagram fans reached out to say that I simply must meet a local artist that goes by "Where Is Frances"... The fans reached out to her as well and long story short WE MADE SOME INCREDIBLE ART TOGETHER. This was one of the first collaborative moments that actually turned into something amazing. We created 8 large scale paintings in 2.5 days. The experience was equally enjoyable and inspiring. We plan to create more art together for sale as soon as possible!
Paint Memphis Exterior Mural, Memphis, Tennessee
September 2017 I was invited to participate in the annual Paint Memphis event! I was so honored to have been included in the Paint Memphis 2017 line up of talented artists. This two day event in Memphis, had over 100 artists participate in creating Tennessee's largest collaborative mural. I created this mural in two days completely free hand without any aid of a sketch, projector or grid. Flex Your Hustle, Leave Your Mark, MEMPHIS AS LUCK!! This is a permanent mural and my second in Memphis. I plan to create many more in the years to come!
West Loop Art Fest, Chicago, Illinois
September 2017 I was invited to participate at the West Loop Art Fest in Chicago. For two days I painted live on Fulton Market Street surrounded by other art vendors, music, and street food! I created large canvases and donated them to The West Loop Organization group. I met a lot of local fans a created some new ones! I would love to participate again next year! A lot of love for the West Loop...
Thompson Hotel Interior Mural, Chicago, Illinois
August 2017 I was commissioned to participate in the secret stairwell project at the Thompson Hotel in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago. This project is in association with the gallery Chicago Truborn located in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. This stairwell project houses murals created by numerous artists located near and far in Chicago. This mural took me two days to create in a very awkward space. I was on a very tall ladder in the stairwell rocking away to a music surrounded by some amazing art. It is open to the public! Go check it out!
BLICK Interior Mural, Chicago, Illinois
August 2017 I was commissioned to do a mural in the BLICK art supply store in the LOOP neighborhood of Chicago. I completed this bad bod in three days! I am so proud of this project because it is the only permanent mural in the busy BLICK location in Chicago. This project was in association with Prime 8 in Chicago and is a huge supporter of the arts! This mural was done free hand without a sketch or projector.
MNML Exterior Mural, Chicgao, Illinois
August 2017 I was commissioned to do a 2,500 sq. ft. mural for MNML. MNML is a creative consulting firm and is located near an extremely busy train stop in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. It took me 14 days to create this mural from start to finish. It was documented daily and I am now consistently tagged on social media from people standing in front of the mural... selfies, groupies, product placement, etc. I worked on this completely free hand and without any aid of a sketch, projector or grid. I had so much fun working on this mural because of the location! The West Loop is full of creative and appreciative people that welcomed my public art in their neighborhood!
Vans US Open of Surfing, Huntington Beach, CA
July 2017 I was invited to be one of 5 artists to paint at the Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach! I was the only female muralist to be commissioned for this incredibly rad annual job. Over a million people come every year to this one week event that hosts competitions for BMX, Surfing and Skateboarding competitions. We were only given three days in the hot sun to complete a large amount of space. IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE. This whole team was super hard working, supportive, talented and FUN. We all worked so hard together to finish this job and the end results were awesome. We were told that this year was one of the best collective jobs the organizers had ever seen. I was so honored to be a part of this once a year event and would do it again in a heart beat. At one point I had to devise a "rope swing" device to get the hard angles the canvas provided... there were plenty of obstacles this job provided and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Piaggio Scooter Home Commission, Alameda, CA.
Back in California, July 2017, I was commissioned to paint a vintage Piaggio Scooter for a rad family in Alameda Ca. This was a first for me, but hopefully not the last! I love painting unique objects, have anything up your sleeve you'd like me to paint? Let me know!
Garage Door Home Commission, Chicago, IL.
I was commissioned to paint in this beautiful backyard in Chicago's Ukranian Village Neighborhood June 2017. I love being invited into people homes to paint. It means a lot that they want my art to be a part of their everyday lives. This was a sweet project I was happy to do and stoked it belongs to a rad family.
Chop Shop Rooftop Exterior Mural, Chicago, IL.
June 2017 I returned to Chicago to do a mural for Chop Shop in the Wicker Park neighborhood. This sweet spot has a butcher, a restaurant, multiple bars, a music venue, and or course... A rooftop patio! I was stoked to do a mural in the sunshine for 5 days here. This project was in partnership with the Prime 8 Art League I was accepted to earlier this year. It's a fantastic social enterprise which exists to support emerging and practicing artists. They conduct an artist application process, producing an annual charity event and art consultation via the private sector. I am honored to be a part of this league and to have an exterior mural at Chop Shop! Go grab a drink and take a photo.
PLAY ME!
PLAY ME!
WITH/ANOTHER Interview
I have a love/hate relationship with being interviewed... But I think I am getting better at it each time it happens! Sweet interview I did with a rad company in Chicago called WITH/ANOTHER. They highlight women who make Chicago (and other cities alike) a notable place for creatives, makers and admirers. You can read the full interview here: https://www.withanother.com/journal/2017/3/16/create-with-traveling-muralist-lauren-asta
Quartyard Exterior Painted Planters, San Diego CA
I thoroughly enjoyed my two months working in San Diego! The sun came out to play while I was working on a unique project at Quartyard in the East Village. I was given the opportunity to paint 5 massive planters that are located in the middle of their outdoor public space. I spent 5 days enjoying the space and seeing all of the dogs at the dog park also located at Quartyard. There are 20 panel paintings for this project. Below is just a sampling! Go check out this rad space that features a music venue, outdoor bar, food/food trucks, weekly events and of course art covered planters!
Sector 9 Interior Mural, San Diego CA
So incredibly honored and stoked to have been connected with Sector 9 to paint the backdrop for their interior skate ramp in March 2017. Sector 9 started in 1993 and was one of the original creators and launchers of the long board. They are a staple company in San Diego and a strong leader in the skate board industry. Their rad interior skate ramp is nicknamed "the bread bowl." The backdrop of the bread bowl definitely needed a new face lift.... and again, I am so honored I was commissioned to paint the entire canvas. I painted the 1000 sq. ft. mural in 8 days! You can visit the bread bowl if you call ahead and reserve with Sector 9.
Day In The Life At Sector 9
A very kind fan wrote to me and said they were so curious what aday in the life was like for me. I thought I would take today to show a few snaps of a typical work day when I am in the thick of things! This is currently day 3 of my mural progress at Sector 9 in San Diego. I expect 6 more duplicate days like this making 9 straight days of this total... My longest record of days like this in a row is 30 :).
Oh it's so glamorous. I genuinely am excited to get up at 6:30AM (sometimes earlier) to get my butt to the wall. Even though I am not usually very hungry first thing in the morning, I gotta eat something for the day. MMmmmmm cereal in a cup.
Pretty damn lucky to go for a beautiful walk at 7:15AM in sunny San Diego. I usually try to find places to stay close to where I am working... This walk is about 30 min to Sector 9.
Self explanatory... COFFEE as soon as I get to work.
I usually like to do my set up and wires and cords and GoPro and any emails etc out of the way (the best I can) before I start... I have two GoPros set up for this mural. I will hope to post the time lapse soon after I finish!
From this point on it's WORK. I usually listen to music or the Marc Maron Podcast WTF.
I usually don't have time to really stop and eat so it's whatever I have packed shoved in my face... Paint and all. Kinda...
More work! Even when people are around talking to me it's focus focus focus.
One of the best parts of the day... When I can sit back and figure out what I did today and what I need to do tomorrow... It also doesn't hurt to have a free keg of beer about 20 feet away from me.
Doesn't take too long to sink in.
I've stayed at all sorts of places, houses, beds, floors... Times like this, I am staying in a little cottage in the backyard of an awesome house. It has everything I need... Bed, shower... But no kitchen, just a fridge. So sometimes I have to get creative for food... Basically no cooking, everything is pretty much cold and raw, Might sound crazy, but I love it.... Plenty of time to go out and celebrate when I am done!
La Jolla Private Estate Interior Mural, San Diego, CA
I seem to be getting more and more interest for interior mural commissions in peoples homes and I am not complaining about it! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do for the #astaarttour. It is a huge honor that people want to have my work that large in their living space. It is incredibly meaningful and intimate at times. I feel like I am part of the family when I am finished and I hope many more home interior mural commissions are in my future! This mural is located in La Jolla, it took me 5 days to complete and I had an incredible view from where I was working!
Pop Pie Co. Exterior Mural, San Diego, CA.
After a nice break from my 2016 mural marathon, I was so pumped to kick off 2017 in San Diego Ca! The first gig of 2017 was at a sweet joint called Pop Pie Co. in the University Heights neighborhood. The exterior mural I did here was unique in many way... It was my first time creating a mural on a gray background (typically I work on white walls with black lines... this one was inverted and I loved working like this). It was also in a very awkward nook but I think I made it work well! It got a really great response from the community and I am so happy to have met the crew over at Pop Pie Co. It took me 6 days and it was an absolute pleasure to work for them. (It also didn't hurt that their food was INCREDIBLE). If you're in San Diego, definitely go check out the mural and grab a sweet or savory pie!
MIISHKOOKIE EXTERIOR MURAL, SKOKIE IL
I am so honored to be the first commissioned muralist for the Skokie Public Arts Program. I can't thank the Skokie Public Arts Advisory for matching me up the Miishkookie Art Space in Skokie owned by John Maloof. John Maloof was personally involved in the discovery of Vivian Maier and made the film 'Finding Vivian Maier'. It was an honor to work with him and to have a permanent mural on the exterior of his business. Skokie has been known for pubic art funding of sculpture in the past and is now focusing on permanent public murals. Again, I am honored to be the first and this sweet 900 sq. ft. wall took me 11 days to complete.
Coast to Coaster's Art Road Trip, New York to San Francisco
Starting in mid September 2016, I set out on a road trip across the United States beginning in Montauk NY and ending in San Francisco CA. Along the way, it was my goal to leave a coaster with a drawing on it every place I stopped. I called the project #coastacoasters on instagram and documented my progress along the way. I attempted to focus the drawings on something unique and specific to the city or area I was in. This project was not only super fun, but super educational. On the back of each coaster, I left my instagram information in hopes that if people found them, they would re-post their find! I would hide these coasters in museum gift shops, behind sculptures, restaurant bulletin boards, national monument bathrooms, etc... I plan to continue this project with the years of travel to come!
MONTAUK NY
WASHINGTON DC
CHARLESTON WV
RICHMOND VA
CINCINNATI OH
LOUISVILLE KY
CHICAGO IL
MINNEAPOLIS MN
MT RUSHMORE
OLD FAITHFUL YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
BOISE ID
OREGON CITY OR
PORTLAND OR
PORTLAND OR
ALAMEDA CA
OAKLAND CA
CHICAGO IL