I thought it might be fun to share some of my rejected art submissions from over the years. Hold on to your butts.
First up, we have my first ever mural pitch for Downtown Iowa City. This was designed to go in the ped mall hallway next to the Graduate Hotel. The mural that Drew Etienne got to create for that space is one of my favorite murals in the city and I’m happy that he was selected.
Later, when I applied to create a mural for the alleyway behind Elray’s, I repurposed the Dunkleosteus from this pitch to work in that space.
Here’s a rejected nature themed mural sketch that I made for a rec center in Kansas. These two images would have been painted on adjacent walls that meet at a corner. The requested theme was wildlife native to the area. Look! I drew fish again!
This rejected mural design was for a wall in the New Bohemia neighborhood in Cedar Rapids. The requested subject matter revolved around the immigrant population that originally settled the area.
I got to paint one Herky statue this year, here are my two other design submissions that weren’t picked.
The following are two fully developed designs I was paid to make as a finalist in the selection process for a mural in Cedar Rapids. I love when a public art selection committee sort through the first round of applicants based on their portfolios and then pay a group of finalists to develop a pitch for the piece.
The prompt for this mural on the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation building was “A vibrant and inclusive Linn County where all people thrive.” If I had been selected, painting this four-story mural would have been a tough job.
Thanks for reading! Remember, rejection is part of being an artist. Keep your head up and keep moving forward!