How an artist creates a space to remember for businesses
When suburban Chicago business owner Sylvia Jiminez found a new location to expand her Bat 17 restaurant concept near the Highland Avenue/Interstate-88 exchange in Lombard, she decided to create a space that people would remember not only for its great food, but also its strong visuals.
To make that happen, she commissioned me to paint a 45-foot wall mural depicting classic Chicago iconography and Lombard landmarks. We collaborated on the design, sharing imagery back and forth through our phones to arrive at a customized mural unique to the restaurant space.
We arrived at a design that would depict a transition from the Chicago lakefront to the purple-toned water towers and Lilacia Park for which the Village of Lombard is best known.
"I wanted our walls to have significance beyond the restaurant," Jimenez said. "But most of all, I we wanted to create a fun place for people to visit and dine."
I worked on the mural at the same time that conversion of the interior space was taking place. The construction company AR1 Concepts created all-new serving areas and drop lighting. We alternated work schedules to accommodate different lighting priorities and ladder time.
Nearing the end of the project, we developed the logo wall graphic together and determined how the metal logo sculpture would be mounted with the black and red metal logo backed by lights over a painted explosion effect.
The metal cutouts from the logo were used as abstract shapes on the back wall. Nothing needs go to waste in the creative process.
We improvised and incorporated new ideas as the mural progressed. Sylvia told me: "I like visual excitement. Let's add some graffiti elements. We want something fresh and urban at the same time." After an exchange of internet graffiti samples, we decided which styles to use in the mural and signs above the restrooms.
The Bat17 mural stretches from the entrance all the way past the kitchen to the washroom areas in the back. It starts at the front with Chicago scenes depicting the lakefront and city skyline leading to a postcard treatment of the word Chicago featuring famous icons including Blues musicians, sports team logos, sailboats, theaters and museums, pizza and hot dogs.
The mural makes the Lombard connection to Chicago with a Metra train station leaving the station. Next to that is the entrance sign to Lilacia Park, the landmark for which the village is so well-known.
A Lombard typographical treatment is filled with birds signifying the four seasons of the year. Above it all tower several of the village's signatory purple water towers over lively renderings of downtown buildings and graphic treatments of positive graffiti about enjoying life. Our goal was to balance symbolic imagery with bursts of design and color so that restaurant patrons could share in the idea that Bat17 and its food equate to good fun.
The main goal is providing an authentic feeling of commitment to the community. The Lombard location carries on a 15-year tradition for the Bat17 restaurant concept, described online as a "New location of a well-loved Evanston staple, serving an expansive menu of quality deli sandwiches, burgers, salads and creative vegan options."
In other mural projects I've taken a similarly collaborative approach. A recent set of murals at Santa Fe Restaurant in downtown Glen Ellyn required both flexibility and patience.
New construction blocked off all windows on the south wall of the restaurant. I stretched canvas over the boarded up windows at the front and back of the restaurant. The front windows are 52 inches by 92 inches, and we chose scenes from San Miguel, Mexico, to paint so that patrons can "look out" the windows into streets where traditional bands play and balloon vendors sell their wares. Then I expanded the existing mural of a hacienda in back to create more perspective over the entire wall.
Not all murals are painted directly on the wall surface. For a dental office, we hung three 32-inch canvas panels together to create 96 inches of canvas surface where I portrayed local landmarks along with logos for nonprofit organizations supported in the communities they serve. It's a nice way to share that commitment and give people something to enjoy while they sit in the waiting room.
I've painted large wall murals in corporate buildings and banks as well as private homes. One fun project involved painting an entire piano so that it melded in with a wall mural of fish in the ocean. I don't draw any lines in the sand, you might say. It's fun to give customers what they want.
In some ways, painting murals is a way to bridge the gap between high art and public spaces. I always try to give people some joy in their day and hope they take something visual home with them to consider.
• To view the murals in this article, Bat 17 is located at 2770 S. Highland Ave., Suite 102, Lombard 60148. (630) 889-9200.
Santa Fe Restaurant is located at 426 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn 60137.
Christopher Cudworth can be reached at cudworthfix@gmail.com. His website is ChristopherCudworth.com.