SEATTLE — Sam Cassady and Josh Debner's Capitol Hill home is hard to miss. Their large flat-faced attached garage is visible to traffic on 24th Avenue East.
Cassady and Debner use it as a revolving canvas for mural art, giving up-and-coming artists an opportunity to leave their mark, at least temporarily.
Each mural is displayed for 3 months and then painted over by the next artist.
The couple provides a $500 stipend to help cover the cost of supplies and time. They also provide tools like rollers, ladders, and power.
It's an opportunity for artists interested in getting into murals to get a foot in the door and build their mural portfolio.
"One of the things that's a little challenging in Seattle is there are free walls to paint murals, but you have to pay for everything. Then there are the more expensive, professional commissions. So we were hoping to offer something a little bit in between for those people who are looking to get their first mural out," Cassady said.
Cassady and Debner drew inspiration for the project from the street art in London, where art is on houses, bars, even power poles.
They turned to Seattle artist Ten Hundred (Peter Robinson) to kick off the project. Robinson already has murals in Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Tokyo, and Brazil. In January, he painted a futuristic-looking crouched creature wearing an orange hoodie on the garage. A YouTube video of his painting process has more than 64,000 views.
In early April, an Icelandic visual artist in Seattle left her mark. Neonbird (Erna Kristin) painted an outdoor-themed mural in cheerful colors.
Applications for the July-September mural close June 30th.
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