Midwest artist completes Wisconsin’s largest mural

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Muralist Mauricio Martinez worked from 6 a.m. until sunset every day for 30 days to complete a 1,000-foot-long mural in Oshkosh, Wis. The mural completes the last stop on his 15-stop summer mural tour, including murals in Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The latest installment by the artist is also Wisconsin’s largest mural. 

The mural pays homage to the history of Oshkosh — from Lewis Hine’s photography to the timber and aviation industries in the city.

When invited to pitch a proposal for the mural, Martinez said he was honored. 

The mural’s design was especially important given its size; Martinez leaned into one design element in particular: Color. 

“It’s not like your average mural site; it’s super long,” said Martinez. “How do you figure something out? So I leaned in with the color and the color bands kind of going all the way through, and I just thought it’d be something beautiful.”

Martinez did not have to take on the project alone. He worked with a team of four others, including another painter who worked on the triangles throughout the mural, a powerwasher and two people on the ground who helped get them different tools and paints the group needed; that was needed because sometimes Martinez and his crew were utilizing a lift and painting in the air. 

For the first few days, Martinez and his team struggled with starting the mural, he admitted. Difficulties emerged with the equipment and getting used to the layout of the wall.

“It’s the most difficult wall by far from size and then like the texture — there’s so many ridges. So you have to really know how to paint because you can miss a lot of spots,” said Martinez. “It took me a while to really figure out the flow of the wall and the flow of myself, but after like two or three days, I got the hang of it.”

Two or three days turned into 30, and by Oct. 30, he was able to put the brushes down and admire his work.

As he had been working nonstop for a month, Martinez hadn’t processed the finished look of the mural. He said now that he’s looked back at the finished project, it looked like a Sarape, a Mexican blanket.

For Martinez, his identiy as Mexican-American is something he holds strongly in his heart. He uses his identity and his history to push himself to work harder on every project he takes on.

“I think of it kind of in my favor, just because of the strong work ethic our Mexican parents had and our grandparents; that’s supposed to be embedded in us,” said Martinez. “I just kind of remind myself that I come from that type of cloth and really try to put that work effort through art. The way that people bust their a**** inside the factory in the plant [Cummins plant], I try to take that mindset and that approach to the artwork, and that’s how I get a lot of work done.”

Wisconsinites might recognize Martinez’s work from the 55-foot Giannis Antetokounmpo mural in downtown Milwaukee. Born in Chicago, Martinez said he remembers visiting Milwaukee every weekend with his family, making that art piece a full-circle moment in his career. 

Martinez has murals all over the country, including in Chicago, Seattle, California and more.

Moving forward, Martinez hopes to continue to refine his skills as an artist. Shifting his focus from wanting to be in art galleries and museums, he grew to appreciate his work throughout cities.

“It used to be really important to me,” said Martinez. “Like I need to be in a gallery to show validation, but this is the gallery now. The museums are very prestigious, and it’s always an honor to be in them, but it’s not my main focus. My main focus was to be down in Miami Art Basel, Scope Maimi and all these crazy art fairs, but I think this is like my art fair.”

Looking back at his career, he said he couldn’t quite pinpoint a time when he felt like he “made it” as an artist. He said he’s grateful for every project he took on and found something special in each one of them.

“I feel like every piece is like an ‘I made it moment.’ Especially like this; I thought Giannis was a big one,” said Martinez. “And then other projects came, and then traveling to other cities and states is another “I made it moment” and stuff. I’m just trying to remind myself that this is what it’s about.”

Although his future projects are not set in stone yet, Martinez has a few projects in mind. He may not be done brightening up Wisconsin with his art either as he said he’s currently in talks with downtown Milwaukee officials about the possibility of painting a piece honoring Bob Uecker.