Artists think ‘outside the box’ for downtown murals

Jeff Little
Artist Jeff Little is painting on a traffic control signal box near the corner of Washington and McLean streets in Bloomington. (Photo by Eric Stock/WJBC)

By Patrick Baron

BLOOMINGTON – The Downtown Bloomington Association is working on beautifying downtown and local artists like Jeff Little are more than happy to help.

Normally murals are painted on large canvases such as walls; but for Little, painting on a traffic signal control box seemed like a fun challenge.

“I took an existing painting that I really like, that was very colorful and pastelish – something that will grab everybody’s eye as they went by, and I’m translating it into a box,” Little said. “It’s a challenging, fun project.”

Local artists assisting with the beautification process are paid for their services, but Little commented how he simply wants to create something beautiful for the people of Bloomington to enjoy.

“I think that’s what the beautification project is about,” Little explained. “Maybe someone’s got some bad things going on in their life, but as they stop at the stoplight they look over and it brings a smile to their face.”

Little also said how he enjoys taking weeks to ensure that he finds his art satisfactory, but the box project challenges him to complete a work of art over the course of a few days.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].

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