For Mindy Allen, art is just something she’s always done.
It’s who she is, in a sense.
“Ever since I was little, I would take books or magazines, look at the pictures and copy or draw them,” she said. “I remember in kindergarten my teacher hanging a picture up that I colored. It’s just what I’ve done. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t do this because it’s like ‘the thing’ that I can do.”
Allen, a Scott City native and 1990 graduate of Scott Community High School, turned her love of art into a professional mural painting business, Mindy’s Murals. She earned a degree in graphic design from Kansas State University in 1994 and has two children, a son, Cole, who is attending K-State majoring in wildlife biology, and a daughter, Haley, a senior at SCHS.
At first, right out of college, Allen’s painting was more of a hobby or sideline.
She has worked several different jobs, including a stint at the Garden City Telegram as an advertising sales person and an ad designer, and also worked at picture framing shop and would paint murals in her spare time.
“I just sort of decided to see what I could do when my kids got older and it took off,” she said of heading out on her own about four-and-a-half years ago.
Allen said in the beginning, she started in mural painting by doing her children’s and nieces bedrooms, and would get calls every now and then from people asking her to paint murals in their homes.
One of her more recent pieces is the mural in the maternity waiting room at St. Catherine Hospital, which features a kind of a magical, enchanted forest theme with rainbows, trees, fairies and fairytale castles. She said it took roughly a week to complete it in December.
As to why she specializes in murals rather than other mediums, Allen thought about it a moment and said it probably has to do with the scale of a room-sized piece.
“Yes, a painting is nice to look at on the wall. But to have it around you in the whole room, or on such a large scale, to me it’s so much more rewarding. I love it,” she said. “I love being able to walk into a room and add to it, make it original to (the customer) and what they like, so that every time they walk in the room they see it and they feel it and they like it — love it hopefully.”
Allen’s inspiration comes in various ways. Clients usually give her a general idea of what they are looking for and Allen runs with it. Others are more specific, while some suggest a theme limited by a certain budget.
After she gets the idea or theme, Allen looks around online for some of her ideas and then puts the pieces together mentally. She doesn’t draw a sketch first, she said she “just starts.”
“I don’t usually sketch things out. For one thing, I’m kind of a project by project person,” she said. “I mean, it’s in my head, I’m thinking about it, but I’m not putting anything down. Then when I get there, I know what I want to do at that point.”
Another benefit of doing things that way, she said, is it avoids people having their homes in disarray for longer than is necessary. She also likes to get in and get it done as quickly as she can while her creativity is at its peak.
In general, Allen paints 6 to 8 hours a day on her projects. She charges an hourly rate, and for mileage and supplies. Some projects take a few hours while others can take as long as a week, but most are one to two day affairs.
Most of her jobs are within two hours of Scott City, but Allen has taken on jobs in Kansas City, Wichita, Manhattan and Salina, and hopes to attract business in Colorado as well.
Allen has a number of favorites, but when asked to name one she cited a bedroom mural she painted for a boy who is a junior in high school. It depicted a fierce dragon with the fire coming out of its mouth changed into a music staff that winds around the room. On the music staff is the boy’s favorite song, and a variety of fantasy and music motifs throughout the room.
“That’s probably one of my favorites just because of the thought and creativity of it,” Allen said. “And I love painting fantasy, mystical type things. I’d love to paint dragons more often because it’s just fun. There’s not really any rules.”
Allen said she loves her job and wouldn’t want to do anything else.
“This is like a dream. I went to school for graphic design thinking I was being practical and it would be easier getting a job in graphic design rather than being a painter. It turned out that’s what I actually do,” she said.
Allen’s work may be viewed on Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, by searching “Mindy’s Murals.” People interested in hiring her may also contact her through those social media sites.
It’s who she is, in a sense.
“Ever since I was little, I would take books or magazines, look at the pictures and copy or draw them,” she said. “I remember in kindergarten my teacher hanging a picture up that I colored. It’s just what I’ve done. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t do this because it’s like ‘the thing’ that I can do.”
Allen, a Scott City native and 1990 graduate of Scott Community High School, turned her love of art into a professional mural painting business, Mindy’s Murals. She earned a degree in graphic design from Kansas State University in 1994 and has two children, a son, Cole, who is attending K-State majoring in wildlife biology, and a daughter, Haley, a senior at SCHS.
At first, right out of college, Allen’s painting was more of a hobby or sideline.
She has worked several different jobs, including a stint at the Garden City Telegram as an advertising sales person and an ad designer, and also worked at picture framing shop and would paint murals in her spare time.
“I just sort of decided to see what I could do when my kids got older and it took off,” she said of heading out on her own about four-and-a-half years ago.
Allen said in the beginning, she started in mural painting by doing her children’s and nieces bedrooms, and would get calls every now and then from people asking her to paint murals in their homes.
One of her more recent pieces is the mural in the maternity waiting room at St. Catherine Hospital, which features a kind of a magical, enchanted forest theme with rainbows, trees, fairies and fairytale castles. She said it took roughly a week to complete it in December.
As to why she specializes in murals rather than other mediums, Allen thought about it a moment and said it probably has to do with the scale of a room-sized piece.
“Yes, a painting is nice to look at on the wall. But to have it around you in the whole room, or on such a large scale, to me it’s so much more rewarding. I love it,” she said. “I love being able to walk into a room and add to it, make it original to (the customer) and what they like, so that every time they walk in the room they see it and they feel it and they like it — love it hopefully.”
Allen’s inspiration comes in various ways. Clients usually give her a general idea of what they are looking for and Allen runs with it. Others are more specific, while some suggest a theme limited by a certain budget.
After she gets the idea or theme, Allen looks around online for some of her ideas and then puts the pieces together mentally. She doesn’t draw a sketch first, she said she “just starts.”
“I don’t usually sketch things out. For one thing, I’m kind of a project by project person,” she said. “I mean, it’s in my head, I’m thinking about it, but I’m not putting anything down. Then when I get there, I know what I want to do at that point.”
Another benefit of doing things that way, she said, is it avoids people having their homes in disarray for longer than is necessary. She also likes to get in and get it done as quickly as she can while her creativity is at its peak.
In general, Allen paints 6 to 8 hours a day on her projects. She charges an hourly rate, and for mileage and supplies. Some projects take a few hours while others can take as long as a week, but most are one to two day affairs.
Most of her jobs are within two hours of Scott City, but Allen has taken on jobs in Kansas City, Wichita, Manhattan and Salina, and hopes to attract business in Colorado as well.
Allen has a number of favorites, but when asked to name one she cited a bedroom mural she painted for a boy who is a junior in high school. It depicted a fierce dragon with the fire coming out of its mouth changed into a music staff that winds around the room. On the music staff is the boy’s favorite song, and a variety of fantasy and music motifs throughout the room.
“That’s probably one of my favorites just because of the thought and creativity of it,” Allen said. “And I love painting fantasy, mystical type things. I’d love to paint dragons more often because it’s just fun. There’s not really any rules.”
Allen said she loves her job and wouldn’t want to do anything else.
“This is like a dream. I went to school for graphic design thinking I was being practical and it would be easier getting a job in graphic design rather than being a painter. It turned out that’s what I actually do,” she said.
Allen’s work may be viewed on Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, by searching “Mindy’s Murals.” People interested in hiring her may also contact her through those social media sites.
Resource:http://www.gctelegram.com/news/local/for-muralist-allen-it-s-all-about-the-art/article_c37a5e28-e24c-572f-92dd-a3b980def068.html
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