Hope is found here.

Location: Newark, MD
Art Design: Brandon Bell + Deserea Martin
Muralists: Brandon Bell + Deserea Martin + Kayla Allen

Creative Direction
Mural Design + Installation

At first glance, this building likely does not look give you the impression that much is going on it’s inside.

But behind it’s doors lies a team that cares deeply for the citizens of it’s community.

We were approached by the amazing team at the Lower Shore Clinic in 2022 with the idea of creating a mural for one of their locations located close to Ocean City, MD.

Located, in Newark Maryland, this facility serves the eastern shore community by providing various mental health services.

Hope. Autonomy. Happiness. Mastery.

These are the core values of Lower Shore Clinic.

Our goal was to embody this in our approach all while challenging ourselves with a brand design style.

We wanted to visitors to approach this building with feelings of calm, beauty, and hopefulness.

Before considering the design itself, we have to think about and visually (or physically) go back to the wall itself.

We say this with every job, and this one proved us correct again.

No two walls are ever the same!

At least, so far with us.

This wall had very unique features which made it a fun design challenge.

The spacing and depth between each brick service was considerable enough that this would impact how we actually got paint within these areas.

This would eventually lead us to go down the path of utilizing spray paint for the first time which turned out to be a blessing.

The exterior also had four sections which extended our several feet which would need to be taken into account during the design phase.

This job would also be our first time working with another artist during the installation portion as well, further fulfilling our desire to increase artist collaborations and opportunities on the shore.

Kayla Allen (@thecolorfulkayak) is primarily a Plein Air painter who grew up in Cambridge Maryland.

This would be her very first mural and using spray paint as a medium!

From pressure washing to scaling up a design and sealing, Kayla got a chance to be there for the entirety of the project!

An experience that will last and help further strengthen her career as an artist.

With this job taking place in December/January we prepared ourselves for the lows of the Maryland winter.

What we often got though was warm sunny days and an average temperature in the high 40’s and even as warm as 70 degrees at times!

We ended up choosing a design that was very unique to us but contained strong elements from varying inspirations including stained glass for it’s inherent beauty and the lotus flower for it’s elegance and meaning of hope and rebirth.

With a location that is settled in a beautiful little nook right off the highway, we wanted to create something that would compliment yet vastly strand out the natural landscape.

The ultimate goal was to completely transform the feeling the environment itself while encompassing Lower Shore Clinic’s core values.

The job itself was a thrill to produce.

The continuous encouragement, smiles, and kind words from the staff, clients, and visitors of the facility kept spirits high and was a much welcome reminder of the power of public art!

Some fun facts about the spray paint we mentioned:

Montana Cans were used
Approximately 45 unique colors were deployed
On more than one occasion we drove to the Blick Arts store in Baltimore, MD to purchase what we ran out of
We spent our first week NOT using spray paint, filling everything with acrylic latex either sprayed, rolled, or brushed on
(never again!)

Hands down our most intricate design to date.

This opportunity allowed us much new experience, chances to expand and refine our artistic impact and direction, and to hopefully touch the hearts and spirits of many.

This install is quite possibly our favorite transformation!

Thank you again, Lower Shore Clinic for utilizing art to make a powerful impact for so many
to benefit from for years to come!