COCO MORTON
Murals & Illustrations: Capturing Feminine Energy
Portrait courtesy of Coco Morton.
Bachelors of Interior Architecture at San Diego State University
Coco is an interdisciplinary artist and designer drawn to the relationship between people and their environment. Using art as a language and a tool, she has travelled throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia connecting with many other creatives along the way. By doing this, she was able explore cultures through a different lens which in turn inspired her transition to working in the built environment. Well equipped with a design background and an idealist mindset, she was excited to take on new challenges. Coco is currently finishing up her Bachelor’s in Interior Architecture at San Diego State, and is preparing to apply for an M.Arch program where she can further explore the intersection of women, environment, and technology.
Inspiration
What inspired your passion for art and illustration (murals, portraits, etc)?
To be honest, I don’t know where it all began. As soon as I got my hands on crayons I was glued to my sketchbooks. I was either drawing portraits, or my dream house, or what I wanted life to be in the future. Not much has changed except my fine motor skills. Growing up around San Francisco had a huge impact on me artistically because I was exposed to different cultures, graffiti, and art everywhere. When I moved to Hawaii, it was all about Polynesian tattoos and Pow Wow (the mural festival), so I was immersed in a vibrant visual culture that I couldn’t really ignore. I wanted to get my hands on anything creative and at least see how I liked it; specifically, I wanted to see how you could express the same image/idea across various mediums. As soon as you start exploring creatively, you gain momentum and curiosity. Curiosity is what keeps you going; sometimes I’ll think to myself, “I wonder what this idea would look like on paper,” “I wonder if I could actually do this as a mural,” or “how could I make this in real life?”. As an imaginative person, being able to realize your thoughts on paper is crucial. The more ways you can express an idea the better. That being said, what really drives my passion is simply curiosity and a desire to share what's on my mind.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Time Management
How were you able to maintain/organize your time especially as a student pursuing interior architecture?
I reached out to my teachers before the semester started asking for the syllabus so that I could plan accordingly. Knowing when deadlines would stack up pushed me to get ahead on projects and prioritize them properly. Instead of trying to perfect an idea (which could take all semester), I’d have to stick to the schedule I laid out and just move forward on a project. Whatever project had a deadline coming up, I’d focus on getting that done for a couple of days, then moving onto the next deadline. Project management and knowing your deadlines are key.
If you’re taking any general reading intensive classes like I did, I would definitely use audiobooks. I listened to most of my required reading while I was sketching out ideas which had a very synergistic effect. Instead of overthinking my design projects, they flowed naturally. In turn, my mind wasn’t drifting away from the books. I jotted down book notes as needed and followed up later. (I don’t recommend this method for parts of your project that require precise measurements!)
Juggling multiple studio classes, general classes, work and art commissions was HARD. Set realistic expectations if you’re working for a client. Give them and yourself twice as long to complete something because life will happen. The last thing you need is 3 deadlines on the same day and zero time to do it all. I’ve learned this the hard way.
Ideas
Les Femmes, is a collection of portraits and figure drawings focused on women with elements of diverse cultures. What do you hope to convey with your art? What story do you want to tell?
I’m Polish and Filipino, born in Germany then raised in California, home to mixed-race families from every corner of the globe. Using visual elements from various cultures and collaging them together is my way of showing that diversity. I draw women because I like to capture that female energy, whether it be more sensual or demanding. In a way, my imagination seems to be set on that feminist utopia from Wonder Woman. I like imagining and drawing up those strong female characters.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Resources
What inspires your works? What tools do you use the most for your work?
Growing up, it was Miss Van, Fafi, and Hueman. First of all, they’re all badasses who were painting on the streets, not just in a studio. Secondly, they really stood out amongst all the other street artists I knew at the time because their work is sensual, feminine, and colorful.
Moleskine Art sketchbook for daily sketches. Any mechanical pencil will do.
iPad Pro 12” with ProCreate for everything. It’s great for drawing mockups, sketches, and trying different color schemes, etc.
Photoshop, Illustrator to help bring things to life.
AutoCAD, Revit, and Sketchup for the standard interior architecture work.
I love mixing up programs/skills because you can really achieve a unique composition. E.g.: combining a Revit rendering with some Photoshop and hand-sketches.
Want to start #Murals? Follow These Steps!
What are the bases to start mural designs and illustrations?
For most of my illustrations/drawings I do freehand. I’ll start a sketch and it slowly develops into something that looks finished.
Murals on the other hand are a little more involved:
Concept: I always sketch on paper first. I’ll do a handful of different compositions and layouts until it looks “right”. Then I take a picture of the sketch and lay it over an image of the space in ProCreate. From there I finetune the layout and scales of different elements to fit the space. Finally, I try out different color schemes and work with a client to decide on what looks best!
Prep: Once the conceptual work is done, I need to prep the area and gather materials. I’ll tape off the space, cover furniture and floors, then prime the wall if needed. Make sure to have enough of every color, buckets of water to clean your brushes, and clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. I print an image of the mural to reference it while painting.
Application: Working off the sketch (instead of grids or a projector), I start out with a sketch on the wall using chalk or watered down paint. I have to stand back and check every so often to make sure it’s scaled properly and not skewed. Eyeballing is the least efficient way to do things and I’m prone to making mistakes, so I don’t suggest doing it this way! From here I’ll lay down the large blocks of color, like the background. Then comes shading, blending, contour lines, and finally highlights.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
In terms of rising concerns and problems (in the architectural profession) over the past year, what is one change that you wish would happen and it did not?
Generally, I just wish there was better representation in the field. In school, we touched on just a couple females working in architecture. I wish we learned about more than Jane Jacob and Zaha Hadid, but our books don’t cover women in architecture. During undergrad, I only had one female teacher who was actually a registered architect. Maybe others didn’t have time to commit outside of their regular work schedules, but it would be beneficial to have some female mentors.
When I look at companies to apply for, many of the firms have men as principals with women spread out in other parts of the company. The one benefit of this is the tremendous amount of support from women in the field. They know it’s skewed, and they also want it to get better, so they’re keen on helping everyone get further in this career path. Clearly, everyone at Primaverarch has experienced the same thing and are working towards the same goals.
Aside from being mentors and teachers, women from diverse backgrounds have unique contributions to design problems. As a man, how can you properly design for half the population without experiencing the world as a woman? We could break this down even further noting economic, educational, or ethnic backgrounds; as a privileged white male, how can you build affordable communities without knowing first-hand the specific challenges of daily life? Diversity and inclusion is key to seriously changing the landscape and I’m confident that women at the forefront will catapult those changes.
Image courtesy of Coco Morton.
