ArtStorm ‘21: Storm Drain Painting
Lynchburg Water Resources and the James River Council for the Arts and Humanities (JRCAH) invited artists to submit designs for storm drain art in Wyndhurst, Lynchburg. The artwork aims to spread awareness and reflect the importance of keeping storm drains free of anything but water.
They offered a few themes to base the designs off of, and I chose, “Stormwater Pollution: Only Rain Down the Drain.” The piece that I illustrated and submitted was 1 of 6 submissions chosen out of many entries around Lynchburg. I came up with the concept by thinking about popular PSA’s, and recalled the “Let’s All Go to the Lobby” animation film that would play before movies. I felt that it would be so cute to do a version of that but with rain going down the drain.
Come Mid-October I will be provided with approved paint and an assigned storm drain and will begin painting my design!
My submitted Design for ArtStorm Contest. Cute, right?
At the beginning of the week I picked up the provided concrete paint and promptly brought them home to mix and separate into seal twist containers that kept them nice and fresh.
My daughter Mochi is seen here on the left overseeing the delicate process.
The next day I brought all of my needed supplies to my assigned storm drain and began to sketch out the design using stencils I made the night before.
The storm drain was all primed and ready for me to paint, so i just went ahead and threw myself into the process.
The design translated very well to my assigned storm drain. Although the dimensions were different from what my mockup was based on I was able to fill the space effectively.
I was so relieved that the colors that I mixed the night before ended up being absolutely perfect and true to my design.
In the submitted mockup above, the phrase “Only Rain Down the Drain” is on the bottom part of the storm drain. I decided against painting it and opted to put the text on the illustration instead.
i personally think it has a great effect and really completes the entire feel of the design. I also placed the sparkle drawings throughout the design too which adds a bit more fun.
And here is the final product! The final touches included adding cartoony highlights to the rain drops and sparkles. I also added small cloud accents to make them a little bit fluffier! If you’re ever in the Wyndhurst are in Lynchburg, VA you should definitely take a stroll down Duncraig Street and see this sweet lil storm drain in person!