THE STORY BEHIND THE MURAL: "NATURE'S DANCE"

By Monique Garcia I Photo by Monique Kuhlman

Ms. Yellow was born in Long Beach and lived here for some time before moving to nearby Carson. Being asked to create a mural by the Long Beach Arts Council was very much a full circle moment for Ms. Yellow, who still has many family and friends in the city. It gave her the opportunity to make what she feels is a love letter to her memories of Long Beach and nature.

Her mural "Nature's Dance" can be found in El Dorado Park. It's sprayed on the East facing wall of El Dorado Park West Senior Center. Whether you see it in person or in the photograph above, the beautiful combination of colors and birds in flight pulls you in.

"From the beginning, I knew I wanted the work I made to reflect the beautiful chaos we find in movement, as well as the ecosystem of El Dorado. I thought if I could mirror the beauty and magic we find in the park then people would remember to appreciate both more," suggests Ms.Yellow.

When asked what she hopes people think about when they see her mural, Ms. Yellow said she just hopes people pause in their busy lives and take a moment to enjoy the colors and movement before going on with their day.

QUESTION FOR THE ARTIST:

What inspired you to choose "Ms. Yellow" as your artist name?

"Wow, well, there are two answers to that question.

"As a kid, I thought yellow was the worst crayon. I liked using pretty much every color crayon but yellow. Then one day I remember pressing down really hard while coloring. And it was like I discovered a new color! It changed completely to something so bright and vibrant. After that, I pretty much became obsessed with all bright colors.

"Later, in high school, my friend Candice and I started a journal where we'd write and draw random things. We didn't want anyone to find it and know it was ours, so we came up with secret aliases for fun. We both really loved Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, where all the characters have names like Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, etc. So we decided on the names Ms. Green and Ms. Yellow. The name just stuck and now I've been Ms. Yellow for almost 24 years."