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Making massive art

By Julie Rausch

Some artists don t like to mix business with pleasure, but local artist and WSU lecturer Steve Murillo doesn t have much choice. The satisfaction he gets from creating art has to be mixed with business, because as owner of an Old Town art studio, he s a one-person operation.

Some days more headaches are created than art. In one Old Town historic landmark project, he had to consider the advice, opinions and recommendations of six committees with multiple agendas and perspectives.

Whether he s creating a project for Wichita, for one client, or for the mob in another city, Murillo says his and other artists struggles resemble those of historic classical painters.

If you look at the history of art, creations of well-known works were client-generated, from the state to the pope, he says. I don t think Michaelangelo climbed up on the Sistine Chapel scaffolds and did that initially for art s sake alone, he says, with a smile.

There are myriad places in and around Wichita that display Murillo s work. In addition, he has done private works, such as decorating a chapel room in the home of Teri Messner, WSU s campus minister.

That s good news for him and for other WSU-educated artists who want to support themselves by making art.

Murillo believes that people want to possess artwork in their homes and businesses and to view art on public property.

"The more art people see, the more art people want to see, he says.

In addition to making art, Murillo teaches at his alma mater, Wichita State, from which he earned a master of fine arts degree. His goal is to see his students go beyond his level and be able to make a living doing their craft. Currently, a very small percentage of artists can earn a living from studio arts, he says.

Exterior facades and interior walls often are his canvases. Some, such as Old Town s River City Brewery and the Color Craft murals, have become Wichita landmarks. Other works are more subtle, incorporated into the decors of restaurants including Larkspur, The Olive Tree and Panera Bread Bakery-Cafe and also, the lobby of the Hotel at Old Town in Wichita, which opened last March.

Developer Jack DeBoer says he d always been impressed with Murillo s work. He chose him for the Hotel at Old Town project because he liked Murillo s layered technique, which allows several periods of history to be captured on one canvas.

Recently, Murillo expanded to Kansas City, Mo., completing works at eating establishments The Hereford House, Jasper s, and Japengo, a four-star restaurant on the Plaza.

"I was impressed with his talent, and he was willing to adapt his style to fit what we wanted, a grand Renaissance feel with Asian influences," Japengo owner Forbes Cross says.

With Japengo s domed ceiling, Murillo began with a dark turquoise milieu, adding Renaissance figures and images overlaid with a haven of birds aglow, soaring from a round center skylight and threading their way throughout the panorama.

Murillo began his mural projects in school communities in the state under a matching funds grant, managed by the Kansas Arts Commission, from local boards of education and the National Educators Association. As an artist-in-school resident for three years, Murillo completed more than 30 murals. Although Murillo still had school districts lined up, he burned out.

By then, he d gotten used to working large scale. Local benefactor Harry Litwin, suggested that Wichita would benefit aesthetically by having Murillo s hand in big art adorning the city.

Although commercial work gives Murillo satisfaction and helps pay the bills, he prefers doing large easel paintings. "I would like people to see me as a fine artist who does commercial work rather than a commercial artist who does fine artwork," Murillo says.