Victor Ving: Nearly Off the Wall

Muralist Victor Ving says he isn’t political, but his remarkable art is more than just another pretty fascia.

In reality, his company, Greetings Tour, creates murals nationwide that celebrate unique community identities and values. And now Pasadena, the place that Ving calls his hometown, is finally having its mural-moment.

We caught up with Ving, his wife, photographer Lisa Beggs, and his son Felix as the heat began to rise after a frosty, fresh fall morning. Their murals provide insta-worthy photo opps, attract tourism and generate dollars for local businesses.

Although it’s only 10:00 AM, Ving and fellow local artist Ray Abary are dressed for severe desert exposure, rocking long sleeves and protective hats as they complete the mural Ving started painting just before Halloween after power-washing and prepping the surface a couple of weeks prior. 

The mural, created in Ving’s exuberant “Greetings from…” vintage postcard style, occupies a parking lot-facing wall of a former Chase Bank location at 130 East Colorado Boulevard. Ving pats down the masking tape on the wall as the heat makes it lift. Up on the hydraulic lift, the sun hits my cell phone and shuts it down due to the rising temperature.

Beginning in 2015, Ving and Beggs (Felix arrived only recently) toured the US in their camper, working with more than 65 communities across 28 states.

The current mural has been a long time coming.

“This Pasadena postcard mural has been sort of a strange journey because the process lasted almost four years,” says Ving with a smile. “There was a long permitting process and design approval process.”

Pasadena is the last stop in Ving’s local Greetings Tour, with Monterey Park and Azusa potentially on the horizon for 2025.

Prior to developing the design, Ving invited Pasadenans to vote online to suggest motifs and themes they wanted to see immortalized within the outlines of the eight capital letters of the city’s name. The Rose Bowl swamped all other requests. Other popular requests, including City Hall and the famous Colorado Street Bridge, specifically do not appear in this mural since they are portrayed in Ving’s other artworks around the city.

Ving also added several inspired elements of his own: a Route 66 tee shirt, Pas native boygenius phee-nom Phoebe Bridgers in her iconic skelly costume, and a locally invented cheeseburger at the Rose Bowl flea market, for example. He also included Mack as well as Jackie Robinson.

“Seems like Mack’s always in the shadows,” he says.

Also included are peacocks and Louise Deser Siskel of San Marino, the first bisexual, Jewish, eyeglasses-wearing Rose Parade Queen. 

He and wife Lisa appear in his rendering of the Eaton Canyon waterfall in one of the mural’s capital A’s, and the pride of Las Lunas Street, Eddie van Halen, lives on mid-solo within the entirety of the letter E, for “Eddie.”

After smoothing and priming the surface, a waterproof base color is applied with rollers. Then, the design transfer process begins with what’s called pouncing, the word in this usage being derived from the French verb “to punch.” On a transparent or translucent sheet, small holes are made into a pattern, creating a sort of stencil. This technique has been used for centuries in fine art, fabric design, furniture decoration and many craft applications to replicate a design or image. 

Ving uses a pouncing device that creates the holes with heat, burning the delicate pattern into place. The pattern is then taped to the wall, and a finely ground dark powder-like graphite is brushed over or blown onto the pattern, leaving behind a delicate outline when the paper guide is removed.

Then, areas are masked off with tape, and spray paint is used to cover large sections. Fine detail work is done later with a brush and acrylics. Local artists often join Ving in his unique form of community service.

Among many other stunning works, Abary (@handpaintedbyray) designed and painted the logo and mural for Lead Hair Salon in Pasadena. He has a particular gift for creating expressive lettering styles, such as the groovy, 1970s-vibe logo for Amigas, a chill, woman-owned vintage clothing shop in El Sereno.

Ving says, “I really appreciate the support of my fellow artists. I also want to give a shout-out to VisitPasadena.com. They helped us out with paint and other supplies, as well as with the lift rental. Thanks also to the 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger and to the Rose Bowl folks who chipped in.”

Ving estimates that the painting process will require two seven-day weeks of eight-hour days to complete, or about 112 hours.

He expects the mural to be completed by mid-month.