#balanceisbliss

A super fast-forward video of our process to bring this idea to life.

written by Gianni Masciopinto

This brewery is not ours, it is yours. Our new mural invites you to celebrate your royalty (and score a super cute picture in the process). Here’s how it came to be:

I like to think my graphic design skills fit really well with our brewery vibe: crisp, straightforward, with some understated charm. My tool (a computer mouse) is calculated and precise.

Local artist Norma Gely is a professional free spirit more comfortable with paint under her nails and free from rules. Her tool (a brush) is organic, raw, and expressive.

When we first met and discussed the mural it was my intention to let Norma do all the work and I would just make sure this unique brand expression didn’t get too crazy.

She quickly caught onto our brand philosophy and said something along the lines of:

“What would be more balanced than both of us working together with our different styles to create something beautiful?”

Dang it.

She was right and in doing so beautifully “trapped” me, for which I’m honestly so grateful. It reminded me how much I love creating off-the-computer.

The process started somewhat slow as we communicated back and forth working on ideas until this sketch had us both excited. Once approved by Larry & Ginger, we got to work.

We found a unique purple tape product designed for automotive use that allowed us to get fairly smooth curved lines (typical blue painter’s tape doesn’t flex at all) and then paint in between. Similar to painter’s tape, it allowed us to paint in the space and remove the tape to get really crisp edges.

Once the main “wave” lines were created, we created thinner lines to fill in the spaces to create a sense of depth/texture. Each line is far from perfect and the designer in me freaked out a bit but I trusted Norma in her reassuring me it would add to the handmade charm of the piece.

Again she was right. She’s always “right”, it’s been said.

Once all the lines were done, it was really Norma’s time to shine by herself. She sketched out her idea and jumped right in.

Layer by layer was crafted to create an imperfect crown.

She spent nearly her entire Saturday working on the crown as curious fans passed by and watched. Once this part was complete the baton was handed back to me. No pressure.

I wanted the rays coming out of the crown to feel organic, but I also wanted to establish a clear center point they would point. I used a simple piece of string and a thumbtack to guide all the lines to the middle, and sketched varying length beams of light using the base color from the crown.

The result feels unique from the rest of our branded material, yet it still feels very much at home. The last element I finally got around to is adding our hashtag and the brewery name.

Please come and take a photo, tag it on Instagram with #balanceisbliss, and we look forward to seeing the images that celebrate the majesty within you.

For more amazing artwork and inspirational shenanigans, follow @gelyart_ and show Norma some love. Cheers!

A special thank you to Norma - you never let down on convincing me I am still an artist, and I can’t really express how much that means to me. You are such wonderful being, and I look forward to creating more art with you in the future. Gracias!

Send in your photos to info@royalblissbrewing.com and we’ll add you to our growing gallery!