POW! WOW! Long Beach came back for its second year last week, and this time with 21 murals, which included four Long Beach artists. Last week, we chatted with Dave Van Patten and Gail Werner (article here), and this week we had the pleasure of speaking with The Draculas, the artist duo Jeff McMillan and Gary Musgrave.
Long Beach Artists Jeff McMillan and Gary Musgrave aka The Draculas have completed their 2016 POW! WOW! mural titled The Honeymoon located in The Westin Hotel’s courtyard at 333 East Ocean Blvd. The mural has completely transformed the courtyard, acting as a window into a forest right in the middle of Downtown.
The artists drew inspiration from nature and used moody and dreary colors to evoke a feeling of a midnight landscape. All the deep blues, greens and purples that depict the trees and hills are accented with a vibrant lime green light emanating from the lonely cabin off in the distance.
The Draculas worked on their mural mostly at night, not only because their name befits this quality but because they said the stress of the day dies down and they can focus on getting things done. Both artists find dark things fascinating and enjoy incorporating classic illustrative art into their collaborative work.
Musgrave is an instructor at California State University, Long Beach and finds it important to let his creativity change direction and invest time in other hobbies like hiking, tinkering on his motorcycle and swimming. He advises young artists to be nice, forward and do good work. McMillan added that its important to stay connected, get out there and stay busy. You can learn more about McMillan here and about Musgrave here.