Zieler Artist Blogs
Amy Kelly-Miller
2019
Street Art
Our artist ambassador Amy Kelly-Miller paints murals in Brighton. Using our own brand acrylic paints and Montana spray paints, here she tells us all about the projects.
Brighton based artist Amy Kelly-Miller has painted an orangutan mural on the walls of Middle Street Primary School in Brighton in support of a local charity working to save the Great Apes from extinction.
Uckfield-based International Animal Rescue (IAR) contacted Amy after spotting her turtle mural on Bond Street and asked her if she would paint an orangutan to raise awareness of the plight of the Critically Endangered species to coincide with Orangutan Caring Week from 10th-16th November.
Amy said: “I was delighted when International Animal Rescue contacted me after seeing my turtle mural at Clarkes art shop. IAR runs the only orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centre in West Borneo. The team there is currently caring for more than 100 orangutans and working not only to rescue, rehabilitate and release the apes but also to protect and restore their precious rainforest habitat.
After posting an appeal on Facebook for a suitable place to paint the mural, Amy was inundated with offers. Her chosen site on the walls of Middle Street Primary School offers plenty of scope for Amy’s creativity, as well as a regular footfall to help raise public awareness – not to mention the fact that the mural will engage the minds and capture the imagination of young pupils at the school!
Headmistress Julie Aldous said: “We were delighted that Amy chose Middle Street for her mural. Everyone in the school, both teachers and pupils, will be following the progress of her painting as it takes shape and using it as a starting point for discussion in the classroom about the environmental issues it raises. We’re also particularly looking forward to the mural’s interactive element which will allow people to step into the scene and share their photos on social media to spread the word about the plight of the orangutan and IAR’s work to save it.”
Amy choose to get her art supplies for this project from us ‘Zieler Art Supplies’. We are delighted to see our products being used for such a good cause and can not wait to see what Amy has in store for us on her next mural.
For such a large project how did she go about choosing the right materials, Amy said: “I love the challenge of painting on a large scale, seeing your own artwork come together on a public wall is amazing. There are defiantly challenges to overcome when painting outside, like taking into consideration the texture of the wall. This is very important when choosing the right art supplies. For the rough brickwork on this wall i used Montana spray paints, they have perfect and fast coverage with amazing vibrant colours to choose from. Then for the finer details i used Zieler acrylic paints, with there high quality buttery constancy it was a perfect chose for adding in the Orangutans features.”
To see more of Amy’s artwork and to follow the progress of the orangutan mural visit her Instagram page @amy.kellymiller_art