Not one, not two, but three incredible Jiffy Lube murals by well-known Indianapolis artist, Carl Leck. You can find Carl’s first Jiffy Lube Mural located at 82nd and Allisonville Road, his second at our Fishers Multicare Center, and now his third in Whiteland, Indiana.
For all three murals, Carl used a technique called trompe’ l’oeil (optical illusion) that makes his murals appear 3D. Fooling your eyes with paint takes a lot of work and talent. Here are 5 interesting facts about this newest “Gummy Bears” mural:
1. The idea was born while camping with his family.
The mural was inspired by Wolf Cave in McCormick’s Creek State Park. While Carl was camping there with his family he was inspired by the rock formations within the park and the idea struck! He took several photos of Wolf Cave for inspiration.
2. Real gummy bears were used in the mural process.
To make the mural look as realistic as possible, Carl bought a bag of gummy bears and took several reference photos from various angles while outside in the sun. He then “sculpted” the life-like gummy bears in Photoshop.
3. The usage of more gummies wasn’t necessarily intentional.
Carl’s first Jiffy Lube mural features a colorful bird biting at a gummy worm on a fishing hook. When drafting up an idea for his second mural, his designs involved giant gummy worms with teeth eating tunnel-like caves into the building.
“I’ll admit, the idea was pretty wild. It may have been a bit too much,” said Carl.
As for Carls third mural in Whiteland, he didn’t intentionally set out to incorporate the gummies, it just happened to come full circle that way.
4. The mural took about 100 hours to complete.
Carl completed the mural in 13 workdays. The cave rocks are layered using seven different colors to create the 3D effect. They were painted entirely with rollers and a brush. The giant gummy bears were painted last. The red one used nearly an entire gallon of paint for the base coat!
5. The location of the mural matters.
The mural, located on South US 31, has high visibility. Carl wanted to capture people’s attention with an eye-catching mural that was recognizable from far away. The corner of the building where the mural is painted faces oncoming traffic so the 3D illusion works as traffic passes by.
“In my high school days I worked as a pool man and spent many days in Whiteland,” said Carl. “It’s cool to see how much the area has changed since then, and DOUBLE cool to have left my own mark on a bustling area.”
This mural project is part of our Growing People through Work initiative, a franchise-wide commitment to building up our employees and the communities where they live and work. The murals are presented in partnership with the Arts Council of Indianapolis.
