An open wall is an open canvas for graffiti artist Sril.
As a young boy, Sril dabbled in several different mediums. His parents tried to direct him toward traditional mediums–oil, pastels, charcoal–but Sril chose aerosol paint as his route to self-expression, and admits that part of the appeal was the illegality of his chosen medium.
“My personality tends to rebel a bit,” Sril says. “And it is a challenge to try and accomplish some of the realism and detail that I strive for with this medium. If it was easy, I don’t think I would be interested in it.”
Since 2012, Sril has focused mostly on portraits and large-scale murals. He has made his mark in Salt Lake City’s art world with his 1,500-square foot mural on Stone Unlimited’s concrete wall at 3267 South 300 West.
His largest mural to date, this open canvas took Sril about a month to complete. It is a combination of themes inspired by the Stone Unlimited’s interior.
“Because of where the wall is located, it gets a lot of traffic. There are a lot of eyes on it every day, and we would get tagged every so often,” says Stone Unlimited manager Bruce Merrill. “Through the course of several conversations with the owner, we decided to get an artist to paint a mural on the wall. After Googling graffiti artists in the area, I found Sril and liked his work the best. It turned out phenomenal,” added Merrill. “It is better than what we thought it would be. We now use it as a landmark to tell people where we are located.”
This easy availability is the beauty of street art. Using a combination of only two different tips, a skinny cap and a fat cap, Sril created a masterpiece for all to enjoy. The amount of detail in his paintings is remarkable, and Sril says there are a lot of hidden meanings in his work.
“I mainly just use free-hand spray paint, no masking or stencils,” Sril said. “I continue to learn on every piece I paint. I have been drawing since I was a kid, and when I was in middle school I had an art teacher who let me do what I wanted. I was never interested in the school projects, I used school as a way to hone my own craft.”
Sril has received commissions to paint walls at several restaurants around the state. Most recently he brought the historic Widow Maker to life on the walls of the Even Stevens Restaurant in Draper.
Sril also does web design and development, and designs clothing. Following his map on
Instagram lets you know which of his other murals and street art you may have seen around the state.
