Paint the Town Bright, Local Artists at Bright Space Murals Brings Light to Denver Communities

One of many murals in Denver painted by Andreas Kremer and Reina Luna of Bright Space Murals.

Story by Ethan Clark

Photos by Giles Clasen

Art is one of the most meaningful parts of Denver’s identity. From the various art districts and museums to the sculptures at the Convention Center, art has defined how people see Denver almost as much as the mountains that serve as the city’s backdrop. While most of Denver’s art scene is confined to specific places that require people to go out of their way to see, one art form breaks the mold and brings color and life to even the most unimportant places: murals.

Murals are a unique medium, as they offer a degree of freedom that other art forms lack. They can be found on the sides of shops to attract customers, in schools to convey a warm, welcoming environment to students, and in businesses, neighborhoods, and communal spaces.

In an interview with Denver VOICE, Denver-based artists Andreas Kremer and Reina Luna, the co-founders of Bright Space Murals, discussed how they use art to bring the community together.

THE ARTISTS BEHIND BRIGHT SPACE MURALS

Andreas Kremer and Reina Luna, who are partners, created Bright Space Murals to bring art to businesses, schools, or anyone else interested in enhancing their surroundings. Kremer, originally from Maryland, moved to Colorado to pursue his love of snowboarding. He spent a winter working at Keystone Resort before moving to Denver to work for Never Summer, a popular snowboard brand. Reina Luna, who was born and raised in Denver, has been a massage therapist for over seven years and has had a passion for art for decades. She and Kremer met through a mutual friend after the COVID lockdowns ended and the world began to reopen.

Kremer became interested in painting murals after watching the YouTube channel Ten Hundred, and his job at Never Summer offered him the opportunity to paint one of his own.

According to Kremer, he was inspired to paint an ugly, rusting shipping container outside the Never Summer factory, wanting to make sure the first thing people entering the factory saw was more visually appealing. He said that he had never made anything like this before, but drafted a design to show the owners — who were impressed — and they gave him the chance to try.

Kremer said the project was difficult, but turned out to be a great success and launched his career as a muralist. Luna, who helped with Kremer’s first mural, was daunted by the challenge this project presented.

“I was way out of my comfort zone, and I had no idea how we were going to do this, but [I told him] if you want to do this, I will help you out,” Luna said. “It turned out really good, and I was really proud of the hard work.” 

“These murals are really not for us, they’re for either this space or this community, or the area where we’re leaving it,” Kremer said.

“The murals [are] an extension of us to the community, sharing our own creative effort in a space that’s public for everyone to enjoy and interpret in your own way,” Luna said.

Since creating their first mural, Kremer and Luna have continued painting murals for anyone interested in their art. They also host workshops with local high schools, including George Washington High School and Prep Academy. During these workshops, students design and make the mural with their guidance.

Andreas Kremer and Reina Luna, co-founders of Bright Space Murals.

“The first one we did was super involved,” Kremer said. “We let the kids have full rein over the designs. We just showed them some of the murals we’ve done, asked them some questions about what they wanted to represent, what their school means to them, and then let them find images, come up with a full design, and then, we guide them through it.”

MAKING A LIVING OFF OF MURALS

One of the biggest issues budding artists come across is getting enough business to escape the starving artist phase and dedicate themselves to their passion while financially supporting themselves, an issue Kremer and Luna had to figure out.

After the couple painted their first mural at the Never Summer factory, Kremer turned to social media to get their names out there. Initially, Kremer opened an Instagram account and posted ads featuring before-and-after photos of their mural and other projects. He hoped people would find them and reach out.

Social media alone wasn’t enough to grow their brand, so Kremer reached out to Influential Walls, a national muralist group. He spoke with Derrik Diza, their founder, who taught him how to do email outreach so he could contact companies he wanted to work with, rather than wait for them to contact him. Diza also suggested that sinceKremer had several years of experience teaching kids to skate, he should work with

schools and teach kids how to make murals.

This advice has been incredibly helpful in growing their business.

“All of our jobs have come from direct email outreach,” Kremer said. “Finding the founders or decision makers, whether it’s principals or marketing directors of companies, and reaching out to see if they’re interested.”

 Kremer said he would advise any artists struggling with turning their art into a stable business not to lose focus.

“I think a lot of artists feel like they’re not good enough, and I would say, ‘You are good enough,’” Kremer said. “If you’re making art, you’re good enough, and I think that holds a lot of people back. When I was at that starving-artist stage, I was posting my stuff online and going to art shows, hoping people would find me, but the big change was going out myself and directly finding people I wanted to work with. That opened up so many more jobs that would not have come my way otherwise. I mean, that’s even why we’re here talking to you today. We wanted to get our name out there more, so we started reaching out to different magazines and newspapers.”

HOW TO CREATE A MURAL

Detail of mural created by Andreas Kremer and Reina Luna with Bright Space Murals

Developing a mural can be a lengthy process, taking around six months to a year of preparation and up to a month to paint.

When a client shows interest in their murals, the first thing they will do is arrange a meeting to discuss what they want. They will ask them a variety of questions to understand what message they want, any ideas or subjects they have, and what impact they want to leave on their audience and the community.

After the interview, Kremer and Luna each come up with their own designs in vastly different art styles to see in which direction their client wants to go.

“It’s usually a collaboration,” Kremer said. “They like parts of [her design], they like parts of [my design], and then we come together to make the final product.”

They will then work with their client, making adjustments to their design based on their feedback until they are satisfied with the result. Following this, they will trace the design on the wall. Usually, they do this by going out at night with a projector to display the image onto the wall. They also use doodle grids, a muralist technique in which they draw doodles all over the wall, acting as anchoring points when tracing the design.

While the painting process may seem simple, many factors can complicate it and increase development time.

“It really depends on the size of the wall and the conditions of the wall,” Luna said.

“We’ve had walls that we’ve had to come and prep before we could paint, which adds time, but if everything is perfect, we can take anywhere from a week or two to a month, depending on how big it is.”

NEXT UP: A MASSIVE WALL PROJECT

Bright Space Murals is currently working on a couple of new projects. They’ve recently started a new workshop with Prep Academy, working with 10th- and 11th-grade students to make a mural for a massive 100- foot wall, which is expected to be completed by the end of the school year in May.

Beyond that, Luna is working on a project that combines her love for art and murals with her experience as a massage therapist.

“With my massage therapy background, I’m starting to reach out to different businesses, and schools [that] would like a mixed collaboration,” she said. “We will be offering wellness services like massage therapy, yoga, self-care, guided workshops, and murals.”

 Although they’re currently juggling several projects, that doesn’t mean Kremer and Luna are too busy to work with anyone else who has found interest in their work.

“I think we’re just excited to be able to share what we have to offer to the community, to businesses, and to schools,” Luna said.

For more information about Bright Space Murals, visit brightspacemurals.com or follow them on Instagram @brightspacemurals.