Nick Gregson is dwarfed by the giant painting he's done on a brick wall at the corner of Hastings and Holdom Streets.
The black outline of a woman's face and a cartoon character are the first stage of what will be a full colour painting to be completed later this summer.
As well as the mural in Burnaby, Gregson is working on a wall on St. John's Street in Port Moody, and on one on Commercial Drive in Vancouver as part of the Metro Vancouver Mural Project, a non-profit that works to provide local artists with donated wall space.
Underneath the new image, it's easy to see the dirt and graffiti tagging on the white wall.
"It was pretty terrible," he said, noting there are hundreds of walls in the city that could benefit from having murals painted on them to prevent graffiti and improve the aesthetic of the area.
"I really think community art, public art, is one of the highest forms of art, and that's what a lot of people desire," he said.
Gregson became a painter at an early age, being influenced by the "open wall" underneath an overpass near the PNE in East Vancouver where a skateboard park provides a legal space for graffiti artists to tag and paint.
He said he has also been influenced by famous street artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey, prolific street artists who have developed the iconic pop art/graphic image style most often seen on the exterior of public buildings and infrastructure.
As part of maintaining the collaborative aspect of his mural project, Gregson said he would like to leave a section of the wall blank for other local artists and even graffiti artists to add their own personal touch to the mural.
"I just think it's a good idea for cities to have spaces like this," he said of the concept of open walls.
In Burnaby, the city will match up to $3,500 of approved mural costs, as part of its anti-graffiti program.
Burnaby's mural grant program started in 2010. In the last three years, at least 14 murals have been painted around town by various artists, according to Kathy Wipf, anti-graffiti coordinator with the city's engineering department.
"We're always looking for new artists, which is great, because it's always nice to have diversity of the different artwork out there," she said.
To raise his share of the funding, Gregson has launched a campaign on Tiny Kick, a local online crowdfunding platform, for the Burnaby mural. He's also put out the word to anyone who wants to volunteer to help with the mural next month.
"We're trying to get as many volunteers as we can to come and help us paint," he said. "It's kind of like an apprenticeship art class, because you get to really see the process and be part of it."
The Burnaby mural project will be open for volunteers to help every other day, from Sunday, Aug. 4 until the end of the month.
To volunteer for the mural, email nickgreg [email protected].
