Editor’s note: An untold number of unheralded artists live in Colorado, those creators who can’t (or don’t want to) get into galleries and rely on word of mouth, luck or social media to make a living. You’ve likely seen them on Instagram, at festivals or at small-town art fairs. This occasional series, Through the Lens, will introduce you to some of these artists.
In many parts of Denver, the intersection of urban landscapes and artistic expression comes to life through a breathtaking kaleidoscope of murals adorning the city’s walls. These larger-than-life masterpieces, painted in vivid hues and with rich narratives, have played a pivotal role in reshaping the city into an expansive, open-air tapestry.
The muralist movement in Denver began in the 1970s, when artist Emanuel Martinez gave colorful life to the local Chicano movement with his street art, created for and with members of his community. The artwork was a powerful medium for self-expression and community unity.
Among today’s prolific muralists in the city, artists Jaime Molina and Pedro Barrios shine. Their art, a captivating fusion of stylistic imagery and a vibrant color palette, leaves an enduring impression. The murals are whimsical and unique, and seem to resonate with the collective spirit of Denver.
The duo has collaborated for 11 years, creating murals on the expansive surfaces of brick walls and multistory apartment buildings, on walls inside or outside of restaurants, and even as designs on wool socks and wine glasses.
“It’s been an incredible journey and an honor to add to the cultural fabric of Colorado,” said Molina. “Even having grown up here, I still get to know new pockets of the city and new communities through my work. The potential to connect people and places through art is endlessly inspiring.”
Earlier this year, Molina and Barrios were commissioned to create a mural for Novo Legal Group, a firm that specializes in immigration, family law and criminal defense. The project, on Morrison Road in Denver, took the duo about a week to complete.
“In this piece, we incorporated symbols that represent the various things that they do for their clients,” said Molina. “We added words like ‘ganas’ and ‘persevere,’ which captured the spirit of what they do. We also used some symbols commonly found in our work like a bridge, a drop and a hand, representing the melding of ideas and cultures, hard work and sacrifice, and helping each other.”
We asked the duo about their partnership and what it takes to create large-scale murals.
Q: You two are unique in that you work together in a partnership when most artists work individually. Is that challenging?
MOLINA: Working together has never been a challenge for us. I think that one of the biggest hurdles when you collaborate on projects is when each party is competing for the spotlight. At the end of the day, you just have to do whatap best for the piece. Pedro and I have always kept that goal in mind. so one of the biggest challenges has already been resolved.
Sometimes one of us has a clear vision of the concept and other times we both come up with it in the moment. Once we have an idea, I sketch it out and then we add color. Once we go to paint the piece, we use our mockup as a guide, but it always evolves onsite. The way that the light affects the space and the way the colors interact together ultimately inform the final shades and tones of color that end up being used.
BARRIOS: We’ve always been very good at working together; two heads can oftentimes be better than one when trying to please a client.
Q: How hard is it to find walls to paint on?
BARRIOS: Most of our work is client-driven, so we are not actively trying to find walls to paint on ourselves. I don’t necessarily consider us to be in competition with other (mural) artists. At the end of the day, (clients) choose us because of our style, not because we can work in large scale.
Q: Have you seen murals become more popular?
MOLINA: Definitely. Itap hard to ignore the popularity of art in the street if you live in Denver or even Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Look into the work and history of Emanuel Martinez, who paved the way for others, like myself, to create art in the street. I strive for the work to connect to the community it lives in. I can’t think of anyone who embodies that more than Emanuel.
Q: Jaime, your imagery is so unusual. To what do you owe that style?
MOLINA: I grew up in Colorado, but moved here from New Mexico when I was 8. I have a large extended family there so we went back and forth constantly.
When I graduated from college and started having art shows, I began to reflect on who I was and where I came from. I took all of the things that I was inspired by when I was younger and put it into my art. I made so many memories staring at all of the imagery in a Catholic church in Santa Cruz, N.M. I knew that each piece had a very specific story, but it was more fun for me to tune out Mass and just make up my own stories. I think that affected me and informed my way of expressing myself.
Q: Some of your works span the entire sides of multi-story buildings. How do you approach these large-scale projects?
MOLINA: Sometimes itap best to freehand the design onto the wall; other times itap best to use a projector. Another technique is using a doodle grid. This is where you place marks on a wall: doodles, letters, shapes. Then you take a photo of your marked-up wall and superimpose your design onto that photo. Now you have a quick guide to transfer your design onto the wall.
BARRIOS: Getting the image onto the wall depends on the wall. That can mean size, texture, location and accessibility. We use a number of different methods from projection, grids, to just free-handing the image. We usually use chalk or pencils to get the image on the wall before we start painting.
Q: With those large-scale projects, how much paint is used?
MOLINA: It can vary so much. Sometimes the wall is very rough and needs a lot of priming and can take 30 gallons of paint just for the base coat. For a big wall, I’d guess it could be anywhere from 40-60 gallons.
BARRIOS: Jaime and I tend to mix most of the colors that we end up using so we don’t buy a separate paint for each hue and shade.
Q: With growth comes the inevitability that buildings are demolished, which means artwork will be demolished as well. Is this hard for you as an artist?
MOLINA: We have had several pieces disappear over the years. Some of them are lost to development, some are lost to new ownership painting over them, or to vandalism. I see the joy and the pride that the community takes in the piece, so itap sad when the piece goes away. But for Pedro and I, itap only ours while we are creating it. Then it becomes part of the community and it takes on its own life.
Q: What one thing bothers you about being an artist?
MOLINA: Finding a balance between work and home life. That goes for anyone who does freelance work, but the freedom that goes along with working for yourself usually outweighs the challenges.
BARRIOS: Juggling time-sensitive projects and quality time with my family can be challenging. And working outside in extreme weather can be exhausting on the body.
Q: What advice would you offer to beginning artists?
MOLINA: Try not to compare yourself to others too much. The things that established artists portray on social media can be misleading to younger artists because they don’t tell the whole story. What you don’t see is all of the misses and the less successful work that leads to them getting to whatever point they are at. The reality is that you have to be willing to put in a lot of work and just always keep going so that you can find your own voice.
BARRIOS: Maximize every opportunity that presents itself. You never know where those relationships will lead you, and having those positive interactions to build off in the future are critical to success.
Q: Your work has now gone beyond murals. What other projects have you worked on?
MOLINA: We’ve had so many great opportunities to collaborate on projects with big brands like Smartwool, Lululemon and Target, but also with local entities and companies that seek us out for our design and mural work. We’ve worked on quite a few Birdcall restaurants as they’ve expanded outside of Colorado. We have also done a permanent installation at Meow Wolf, Convergence Station. I think one of the reasons that we have found success is our ability to work with all of our clients to deliver something that both parties are connected to and are excited about.
Follow Molina and Barrios on social media @the.worst.crew @cuttyup @pbarriosart
