Painting Electrical Boxes in San Diego
Surf Bus Design
Before moving to Orange County earlier this year, I lived in a lovely neighborhood called Clairemont in San Diego, which was filled with canyons and mesas. So when I got the chance to work with the Clairemont Town Council to paint an electrical box for their Beautification Project, I was excited!
The initial design I submitted was a mint green Volkswagen bus with surfboards on the roof rack with canyons and foliage in the background. The council members loved the ‘Clairemont vibe’ of the design, which looked like someone driving down from the mesa to go to the beach for a surf. They liked it so much so they asked for 2 more designs.
When coming up with the ideas for the additional electrical box designs, I did some research to find out what else I could highlight about Clairemont. Aside from knowing that the neighborhood was minutes away from Mission Bay and the beach, I learned that the Town Council holds annual garden tours and they launched a bike program in 2018. I created the mockup designs below to highlight these programs.
Succulent Design - To showcase the drought-friendly plants of San Diego
#BikeClairemont Design - to showcase Clairemont’s Bike Campaign
PAINTING IN PROGRESS
It took approximately 4 days to paint all three boxes. Each box took about 1-1 ½ days to paint, which included the priming, sketching, painting, refinement, and coating stages. While there was a lot of freehand painting involved, I also planned ahead by printing some of the design elements onto multiple pages of printer paper and taped them to transfer paper to apply them to the boxes, which made the whole process that much more efficient. You’ll see some process photos below.
FINISHED MURALS
While painting each box, I received a lot of positive feedback from residents as they passed by on their daily commute, runs, bike rides, and family strolls. Not only was it great to connect with residents, but it was also a means to bring more joy and positivity into the neighborhood. Overall, this was a wonderful project to be a part of!
Special thanks to Emily Cottrell & Lynn Haims from Clairemont Town Council and SDG&E for this project, and Nalena Kumar for helping me with the #BikeClairemont box.
FIND THESE IN REAL LIFE
Here’s where you’ll find these three electrical boxes.
Surf Bus Design - In front of Bayhill Tavern - 3010 Clairemont Dr, San Diego, CA 92117
Succulent Design - In front of the mini plaza - 4386 Moraga Ave, San Diego, CA 92117
Bike Clairemont Design - In front of Clairemont Christian Church - 4321 Moraga Ave, San Diego, CA 92117
Stay stoked,
Ginny