VMF Alumni: Jean-Paul Langlois
We love keeping up with VMF Alumni to see what they get up to post fest. For this interview we reached out to Jean-Paul Langlois, the artist of the 2018 mural “The Tramplers” at East 11th between Main and Kingsway. You may have seen his mural used as artwork on the official beer of Vancouver Mural Festival: The Citra Hefeweizen, made in collaboration with Main Street Brewing. In this chat with Jean-Paul we were able to get some insight on his personal memories painting at VMF, his quirky routines, and some epic upcoming pieces we can’t wait to see. Make sure to check him out on Instagram at @jeanpaullanglois!
What was your experience with VMF like?
It was a great experience. I made lots of friends, really enjoyed having the super talented (and delightful) Sarah Khan as a neighbour. Painting in public is actually fun. You meet interesting folks, there was a crew of homeless that always partied around the corner. They were easy to get along with once we got them to stop peeing on my wall…
Any advice to 2020 VMF artists?
Get a canopy and a cooler full of beer. Enlist friends. Hope for a wall that isn’t in the sun all day…
Any rituals to get yourself amped up or in the zone while you work?
Always music. Classical in the morning, then hip hop or house or something weird as the day wears on. For mural painting I like to have my van with a little shelter and chairs and a cooler full of beer. Friends come by to help, although half of them just hinder….so it’s good to have a place for them to sit and heckle you.
What are some of your favourite pieces you've worked on since VMF?
I’m pretty excited about the series I did about my Grandfathers experience in residential school. “Escape From The White Witches-The Graduation of Eli”. Its some of my best work.
Any other arts festivals you've painted for/attended?
Paintillio did a collaboration with me for Pride at the Vancouver Art Gallery. That was cool, those girls are great to work with.
I did the Nelson International Mural Festival this summer. It was awesome. I took Fred (my dog). For the first week we lived in an alley in my van and then the organizers hooked me up a beautiful luxurious cabin in the woods. It’s a great little town, I’d never been. There’s so many cool people and good restaurants. Plus we could walk down to the lake for swims multiple times each day which was necessary considering it was so hot my paint trays melted.
Future goals/aspirations/sweet projects you want to be a part of?
Doing Houston’s HUE Festival in 2021. I’m currently designing a 10x60 foot wall for Mozart Park in Chicago. I’ll go down and do the outlines in the spring and their Youth Mural Group is going to do all the color work. I’m pretty stoked.
