Live Chalk Mural at IFT16

Nancy and Pochis Bank Artists were invited to create a mural LIVE at the 2016 Institute of Food Technologists Trade-show at McCormick Place in Chicago. Over the course of three days Nancy and the team brought the OLAM sponsored design to life while conference attendees eagerly watched our progress.

When crafting the color scheme the artists split the design into three parts: the produce, the people, and the background. Since IFT16 was a celebration of foods and food technology, we wanted the produce to be the focus of the mural. We chose vibrant and heavily saturated colors to really let produce standout. Taking cues from our background in portraiture, the artists chalked the people in high contrast monochromatic tones. This gave the workers dimension and uniformity. The team then chalked the background of the design in a paler color palette to act as a soothing transition throughout the piece.

Nancy and PB Artists Brittney Williams, Tracee Badway, and Sandra Bacon arrived early Sunday morning with paints and chalk in hand. The team started painting with a layer of acrylic paint followed by a layer of acrylic ground for pastels. This allowed the chalk to adhere to our canvas as well as make all the colors pop. The team mixed dozens of different colors of chalks and paints to complete the mural.

Thank you to Olam for sponsoring the artwork, to Flirt Communications for hiring us, and to IFT for including our Live mural in this annual celebration!