“My name is Kirileigh Jones and I’m an artist”
“I grew up in Alameda, California. When I moved to Denver, I just wanted to do anything that was art involved, and then I painted a mural and then I made another mural, and now I just paint a lot of murals.”
“I have been painting murals for four years. I didn’t go to art school. I haven’t taken any art classes in my life, so I don’t really understand a lot of the proper process to do a lot of things. I kind of do things as fast and as easy as I possibly can.”
“The first step when creating the mural is conceptualizing and presenting my idea and ask if you would like to see a sketch. I’ve definitely painted murals where I was like, “I want to do something half flowers, half mandala.” And someone was like, “Great, go paint.” And then I did.”
“I have to do everything by hand. I think probably the most fancy tool I use is a level. I just use string and tape and then yeah, I wear AirPods constantly. AirPods changed my life. Going between like three different podcasts and music. I literally only listen to murder podcasts and true crimes. It’s like this crazy balance of everything.”
“I need a lot of things going on at one time, and that’s probably why I’m also good at being outside and having it be a little performative because I’m like, “Yeah, you, I’ll answer you, but I’m also going to stay over here.” I do art constantly, like all day and a lot of it’s not to relax, it’s just because I have to be doing something.”
“Cannabis plays a role in my creativity because it creates a focus in my brain. It creates a place to filter all the thoughts and it definitely organizes them into one at a time. I definitely like a sativa or a sativa hybrid. I’m also a big CBD person because I have insane anxiety, so I like to kind of be up and mellow. I just like anything that’s going to make me feel what I consider to be normal.”
“I usually have a vape pen in the waistband of my leggings at just about all times, and then as I get home the first thing I’ll do is go to my sister and be like, “I just finished this thing. Let’s roll a blunt.” Because it’s like, that’s how you celebrate.”
“Mandalas represent the connection between everything in the universe. That’s why it’s the circular pattern, it usually has a square pattern too. I like tiny patterns. I like how things connect and how the layers have to go together. Mandalas for me are like everything is connected because the universe made it that way and just accept it and move on.”
“I do think everything happens for a reason, but now I am more focused on why. I really think art has the power to heal people. My Uber driver the other day was dropping me off at my mural and I did those morning glory flowers because they’re beautiful flowers and I just like the moon and I like flowers and I like white flowers, and so I put them in that.”
“My Uber driver saw what kind of flowers they were and she started crying because she was like, “I used to pick those flowers for my mother and pull them right out of the ground, dirt and all, and it was the ugliest bouquet ever made, but my mother thought they were the most beautiful thing in the world.”
“And that just brings me right back to that moment. Was I thinking about that when I went into making the mural? No, but it’s just creating this moment for you to have whatever moment you need.”
“I know it heals people and I know that it creates this sense of calming and belonging. Like you want to leave everywhere a little bit better than you found it, and I really think that’s what I’m doing, and then I just move on to the next thing.”
“My best advice is practice makes permanent. Like constantly practicing because eventually that’s so ingrained in you, you don’t know how to do anything else? This is what I’m supposed to be doing. Absolutely. There’s no if, ands, or buts about it.”
“I love Lightshade. They’re trying to create things for their community and I think that’s important. I think that Lightshade is trying to become something that’s changing the way people view cannabis, and I think they’ve made it a very safe space.”
“I saw a hundred year old lady walking in there and she was having the best day and then I saw a 21 year old kid walk in there and he was also having the best day. And I was like, ‘That’s the kind of energy I want everywhere.'”
“I am most looking forward to painting more walls, just doing more. I just want to create more. Shout out to Lightshade for allowing me to let this vision come to life.”
“My name is Kirileigh Jones and I’m an artist.”
