When muralist Lynn Richardson walks into a restaurant, she studies its décor and theme. Ideas come quickly and often as she grabs napkins for notes, tucking them inside her notebook.
Understanding a restaurant’s ambiance is part of Richardson’s job. She is a muralist and has been commissioned by several neighborhood businesses to decorate their walls.
Sitting in a Lakewood restaurant surrounded by two wall-to-wall-to-ceiling murals, she seems to ignore her work.
“I’m very shy and try not to get too emotionally attached to my paintings,” Richardson says. “After you work on a project for several weeks, it becomes like a child.”
She is driven by the creation of the mural and says she rarely returns to businesses for which she has painted.
“But when I do, it is very rewarding to see people enjoy my work,” she says.
Richardson specializes in ethnic eateries, with murals of fiestas and country scenes. Her work can be seen in neighborhood eateries such as Rancho Martinez, Scalini’s and Angelo’s.
Scalini’s, with its black and white base décor, commissioned murals of the same color with splashes of brilliant reds, greens and blues. One wall features a continental skyline fronted by an outdoor café with patrons. The other scene is a Venetian river and gondola, its characters donning turn-of-the-century clothing.
Richardson seems to mind-travel to the country she’s translating in paint.
“I do extensive library research on the region and its people,” she says.
News & Notes
A CALL FOR ARTISTS: The Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the United Nations Development Fund for Women will host the art show “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” May 11. The organization is looking for artists to participate. Deadline for submission is May 4. For information, call 454-5009.
