Route 66, Illinois

Painting this mural on the Route 66 Historic Brick Road evokes the movie My Own Private Idaho by Gus Van Sant. Although we weren’t in Idaho, but in Illinois, on a hand-laid historic brick road circa 1931, the ambiance and rural setting felt akin to that cinematic and Shakespearean American adventure. Once again, we found ourselves working for hire with Greetings Tour, Victor and Lisa’s nationwide Greetings From Mural project.

Our subject was the historic Route 66 brick road. Victor designed the mural, while we improvised some small details to the bricklayer’s silhouette. The actual painting process posed some challenges. The temperature during our mid-April punch date wasn’t extreme, but the vast open field surrounding us proved to be windy. Our mural pounce, which we used to apply our design onto the surface, flew off constantly. We eventually resorted to Frankenstein-ing pieces of our pounce onto the wall. The corrugated surface posed another issue, but our expertise with spray paint allowed us to swiftly address it.

Is there anything more quintessentially American than this roadside Route 66 mural?