Manchester Arts Mural at the Historic Lyceum

Image courtesy of Manchester Arts

Located just off 141 on Manchester Road in Saint Louis, the historic Lyceum building has lived many lives: a tin shop, general store, hardware store, dance hall, post office, movie theater, ice cream parlor, roller rink, City Hall... and now, the new home of the Manchester Arts program! To commemorate the many past lives of this historic building, I designed a bold, lively mural to act as a backdrop for all the wonderful art that will be created within its walls.

Blank canvas: the designated wall for the mural is situated at the far end of the building, drawing in people from the front door to the back of the space.

With the help of two trusted fellow artists — Lorrie Macy and Kara Sindelar — we completed the mural from blank wall to finished product in approximately 28 hours over the course of three days in March 2025. The mural consists of ten colors. After a great discussion with Manchester Arts program director Rebecca Pate, she and I selected bright and bold colors to contrast with the muted colors of the building.

The beginning of the final day of painting! The natural light in the Manchester Lyceum building is a muralist’s dream.

Muralist Jillian Kaye tackling one of the most intricate objects in the mural: a reel to reel movie projector.

I love telling stories through playful, concise illustrations and a limited color palette. It’s a delightful challenge to communicate the imagery while not expanding the amount of colors, and to still have each object read as a recognizable thing. I designed this mural by hand, in Procreate, and was able to adjust color and spacing to find the best balanced composition. The typography was also made by hand in some of my favorite hand-lettering styles. My murals are recognizable by their crisp linework, complex compositions, simple shapes, and handmade type and I love that this one has all four distinguishing features.

An excited crowd attended the Lyceum building open house on March 29, 2025.

The mural debuted to the public at the Lyceum Open House on March 29, 2025, celebrated with food, art demonstrations, giveaways, and a ribbon cutting! I attended with my son and we enjoyed inking and pressing a linoleum print and creating a garland out of recycled materials. Manchester Arts is an amazing asset to the Saint Louis area, providing a creative and innovative outlet for STL creatives and residents to try a class, attend an exhibition, and learn about local artists. I’m so very honored to have been selected as their muralist and look forward to working with them in the future.

STL artist Kara Sindelar helping me put the finishing touches on the mural.

I’m eager to create and paint more mural here in Saint Louis and beyond! If you want a colorful and engaging work of public art in your space, business, or town, do reach out through the form below. I’d love to chat with you!