Queen ~b & Smoky Fox is an interior mural painted in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Built around two stylized characters, the mural explores the beginning of a couple’s courtship — those early days when attraction, curiosity, sweetness, and symbolism all feel heightened.

The mural grew from characters I first developed in Ten Hundred’s Draw & Paint Your Imagination class, where I began thinking more deeply about how invented figures could carry real emotional meaning. For this piece, I used that character-driven approach to interpret the start of a relationship. The two figures were inspired by drink names from a brunch date that later became affectionate nicknames, and the mural evolved into a visual reflection of that tender, formative chapter.

Although it showcases one couple’s relationship journey, the intention reaches beyond biography. I wanted the mural to feel like it could hold any couple’s early story — the coded language, private symbols, and meaningful details that carry emotional weight for the people living them. The background creates an atmospheric setting without competing with the characters, while incorporating symbolic elements that suggest the emotional shifts of a new love.

Much of the mural’s heart lives in its easter eggs — small details inspired by real moments, gifts, personality traits, and first impressions. Those layers of symbolism are what make the mural feel personal, while still visually inviting to others. In that way, Queen ~b & Smoky Fox is not only about one pair of people, but also an example of how I can translate a couple’s memories, symbols, and emotional language into painted form.

The characters began with graphite sketches, then moved into digital concept development on my iPad in Adobe Fresco before being painted on site with interior latex and Golden Fluid Acrylics. That process allowed me to blend illustration, design, and mural-making into one workflow.

For me, Queen ~b & Smoky Fox is a mural about imaginative ways two people begin to shape a world together.

Title: Queen ~b and Smoky Fox
Size: (7.6’ * 2.08’) 15.808’ + (7.6’ * 3.48’) 26.448’ + (1 * 3.43’) 3.43’ = 45.686 sf
Site/City: Private Residence, Pittsboro, NC 
Medium: Acrylic paint on a interior latex painted wall.
Date: September 2020.