Craig Martin, is a practicing artist, illustrator, and mural painter that has resided in Lafayette, Indiana for the past 19 years. Last summer Craig brought the mural Coneflowers to life on the exterior of our Earl Avenue location in Lafayette. This public art project is part of a larger collaboration with the Arts Council of Indianapolis – the Every Part Matters Mural Project.
Bringing Public Art to Lafayette
Craig is a vital part of the growing arts and culture scene in Lafayette. He participated in the first public art committee in the area and has since completed five public murals in Lafayette-West Lafayette including ‘Coneflowers.’
“I’ve been part of several major projects to bring public art here, and I’ve seen the impact it has in the community,” said Craig. “The more we get, the higher the anticipation seems to be for even more.”
We were thrilled – to bring more public art to the Lafayette community through a long-time Lafayette resident, such as Craig. The Every Part Matters mural project is Jiffy Lube of Indiana’s commitment to public art, providing both internal and external benefits to our team members as well as the communities in which we work and live. “It’s positively impacting our business, but more than that, it is improving our communities and inspiring our people,” explains Jiffy Lube owner, Steve Sanner.
The Native Coneflower Concept
The Earl Avenue Jiffy Lube location is planted in a mixed residential and commercial district on a major thoroughfare entering the Lafayette-West Lafayette area. Craig wanted to create a visual connection between the local residential and natural environments through the representation of a common botanical specimen— the purple coneflower.
The purple coneflower is a native plant to Indiana. It’s often used in formal landscaping and urban gardens but it can also be easy to spot growing wild and free in rural areas of the state.
“I’ve always been drawn to working with elements of nature, such as flowers and trees,” said Craig. “When I thought about imagery that might have a common connection to a wide cross-section of the community, I thought of the purple coneflower.”
Ironically, the mural also gives off an ‘exotic’ feel looking somewhat like a tropical landscape, though it’s comprised entirely of midwestern flora.
Painting The Mural
The mural spans across the width of two adjacent walls for a total of 44’ in length. Once the painting process began, it took eleven days for Craig to complete, working intermittently.
After cleaning the wall with a special solution, it was ready for an application of latex exterior masonry and stucco paint. These were used as a base coat color and then Craig began to sketch out design on both walls. Once these steps were completed, he spent the next several days applying semi-gloss paints with rollers and brushes to complete the image.
“Each day was very gratifying, as there was almost always a Jiffy Lube employee out to greet me and see where it was going that day.” said Craig. The staff and customers were terrific supporters.”
To learn more about Craig Martin you can connect with him here:
Five other murals were completed in 2018 and the remaining five will follow this year. The other 2018 mural artists and locations are:
Blend Creative Minds — 5444 W. 38th Street (International Marketplace)
Carl Leck — 8175 Allisonville Road (Castleton)
William Denton Ray — 6275 N. Keystone Avenue (Glendale)
Barbara Stahl — 1280 N. Green Street (Brownsburg)
Shamira Wilson Young — 5630 N. Georgetown Road
Click here to see who the 2019 artists are and where they will be painting.
