ARTery gets a new mural
Artist Tommii Lim and ARTery owner Bill Arkfeld fill in the area between the masking tape with black paint on the Palma Avenue wall of the ARTery of Atascadero. Photo by Heather Young
Painting shows hope, possibilities
Atascadero art supply store, The ARTery, had its third mural installed on the side of its Traffic Way business. This mural was by Tommii Lim of Los Angeles. The new mural is a departure from the past two murals, which were both colorful and applied using different techniques. The new mural is all straight lines and black and white.
“I think it’s interesting,” ARTery owner Bobbie Nunes said about seeing the different styles of murals being installed. “My goal in this has been to display different art, so people can see all the different possibilities.”
Lim’s mural on the ARTery’s Palma Avenue wall was installed by first whitewashing it and then projecting Lim’s artwork and outlining it. Next, the lines were tapes off with painter’s masking tape and all the spots that needed to be painted black were marked. From there, the it was about getting the paint on the wall.
Los Angeles artist Tommii Lim applies masking tape to the side of the ARTery in Atascadero. The drawing below his left hand show what the mural will look like when it is completed. Photo by Heather Young
“The reason I like doing this kind of work is because I get people involved,” Lim said, adding that a family of four stopped by Thursday afternoon and helped painted. “I like to share my work. I wanted to paint something nice for the community.”
Lim said that his work is more like a diary because he paints his life, the things he sees around him and the things he experiences. He said the mural on the ARTery is someone looking into the horizon, “seeing all the possibilities and ready to take on new challenges.”
All of Lim’s work is done in black and white and can be viewed at www.uglyfresh.com and on Instagram: Tommii.
The ARTery’s first 600-square-foot mural sparked controversy in 2012 when questions arose over if it needed a permit in advance of the installation. The mural was installed over a weekend when the artist was available at late notice and Arkfeld said at the time that he thought he could get a permit after the fact. When the ARTery went before the city’s Design Review Committee, which is made up of two city members, two planning commissioners and one at-large member, was denied a permit because the committee said it did not match the downtown. After an appeal, for which the ARTery owners had to pay $460 in fees, the ARTery was allowed to keep its mural and subsequent ones without a permit.
Nunes and her daughter, Zoe Arkfeld, said that they’ve been getting a lot of positive response from people driving by on Traffic Way, including people showing dismay when the previous mural was painted over to make way for the new one. With rain predicted for the weekend, Lim said he is aiming to have the mural completed today.
