Nong Khai Street Art

Location : Nong Khai, Thailand

Street Art
Everywhere I seem to go now, I see street art on an outdoor wall. Of course Penang street art is the default ground-zero, but it's a pleasant surprise to stumble upon street art when you're not expecting it. In Nong Khai, street art is a fringe phenomenon but maybe it becomes a trend.

original neighborhood art mural

populating the neighborhood

AHA Moments
I Photoshopped myself into the wall art. It came out OK after a few trials. Then I had a few AHA Moments after that, as follows:

1. launch a marketing campaign for a hotel, putting the hotel logo on the wall with a "this way" sign (e.g. Mut Mee on the cover picture), using models representing the hotel's target demographics (if you want to attract Chinese couples, put a Chinese couple on the wall art), advertise it on Facebook and develop a webpage on the hotel website where the picture links to. I actually talked to the owners of Mut Mee but they didn't seem interested. I pitched the idea by email to a luxurious hotel in Nong Khai, and followed-up with a visit, but no one seemed to be interested. I still think using a city's street art is a creative way to launch a marketing campaign for a hotel - it's novel, engaging, catchy and even interactive.
2. launch a marketing campaign for a clothing line designer. A person modeling the clothes gets Photoshopped into the wall art with logo of the brand discreetly posted. One designer already had that idea. It was synchronicity that she was thinking about it when I approached her. I modeled for it on the mural - there was no separate shot of me and no Photoshop work done. It was a friend, so it was on the house. I also talked to another clothing designer who appeared excited but didn't commit to anything.
3. lastly, I thought about offering my Photoshop service by printing my final wall-art picture, posting it on the wall with info on how to get in touch with me if they are interested in having one Photoshopped for them. So, I had it printed, bought wall tape, and plastic cover (to protect from rain).

Blending Your Picture into the Wall Art
Posing with the mural doesn't offer a realistic effect - I tried a few times. What worked was to take the following steps:

1. take a separate shot of yourself, preferably against a white background for easy cropping
2. crop yourself out of the picture
3. copy-and-paste your picture on the wall art picture
4. adjust for size, rotation, color and perspective
5. you can stop here, but your picture will look like a photograph that was 'pasted' on the wall. You want it to blend into the wall art - to look like it was part of the original art.
6. finally, and this is the hardest part, apply Photoshop filters to make your picture appear to be a part of the original street art. There is no one approach. Every picture presents a different challenge.
7. if you get frustrated, I can do it for you. Email me your picture and I'll get back to you with a firm quotation and a time frame.

Ending Thoughts
If I make money from anyone who wants their picture done, nice! But my main goal was to act according to my AHA Moment with no attachment whatsoever to the outcome. Performing due-diligence was far more important than the expected revenue outcome. This compliance tells my universe I'm listening and willing to give the time and effort. By doing this, more AHA Moments usually come. AHA Moments beget AHA Moments.

Far from being mainstream, Nong Khai street art is nowhere except on 3 obscure locations. But it's a promising start. Given the right push, it could snowball into a trend that might give Penang a run for its money. I won't give out the locations - make it an Easter Egg hunt. It's fun. Good luck!

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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