Labrona x Overunder mural in Reno

For being Canadian Labrona doesn't drink as many Labrewski's as one would think. Which is probably a good thing or else we wouldn't have ever finished this latest mural in the molten heat rays of Reno, Nevada.

A pair of Labrona characters look to a somber fellow with a mind of a Ferris wheel.

The always great Holland Project donated the wall space for us. If you haven't been to a show, workshop, or art exhibition check them out. They are just off of Wells Ave. at 140 Vesta St.

Portait of George W. G. Ferris Jr.

A very worn reference image I used of George Ferris Jr.

For my section I did a portrait of George W. G. Ferris Jr. who grew up in the Nevada Capital and nearby city of Carson in the 70's. The 1870's!

He entered notoriety after conceptualizing and engineering the Ferris Wheel for the 1893 World Fair in Chicago. Many say his design was inspired by watching the water wheel on the Carson River and imagining what it would be like to ride around on one of its buckets. While presenting his ideas to the powers that be of the World Fair many said Ferris was crazy and called him 'the man with wheels in his head."

Near the same time another George Ferris was shaping the look of Nevada. The Philadelphia transplant, George A. Ferris set up his architecture office in Reno and designed the Spanish Quartet of schools, including Mount Rose and McKinley Park, as well as the Governor's Mansion in Carson City. Later in his career he served as the State Architect for the Federal Housing Authority. 

Eventually he joined forces with his son Lehman A. "Monk" Ferris in 1928 and designed some of Reno's most striking structures such as the El Cortez Hotel. Prior to working with his father, Lehman worked with my favorite Reno-architect Frederic J. DeLongchamps.