Murals - JamesGloria.com

After graduating from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1988 with a BFA in Design for Theater and trying my hand at the scenic arts, I began painting murals in private homes, restaurants, and other public spaces. Over the course of a 25-year career, I completed numerous commissions including murals for the Newark Museum, The Columbus Citizens Foundation, and various projects from New Jersey to North Carolina pictured in the photo gallery to the right.

Mural Process

There is a long tradition of painting murals on canvas. Since baroque times, murals have been completed in the artists' studio, then applied to the wall surface. There are several advantages to this method.

First, superior quality as the artist has more mobility to better render details, and the canvas surface itself is far more appealing than that of sheet rock.

Second, installation is quick, so the client has little inconvenience, which saves money as well for restaurants and businesses on tight deadlines. Murals can be completed ahead of construction to speed up opening day. Lastly, the canvas is removable, so customers can take their investment with them when relocating or in cases of property damage or renovation. To the right are photos of me working at the Newark Museum, painting the local production of “Guys & Dolls”, and installations of two murals, the first at a residence in NJ, the second at the Birchwood Manor in Parsippany, NJ.

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The Heritage Mural Education Program

In 2006 with my wife, dancer Angeline Wolf, I founded the Totts Gap Arts Institute (TGAI), a non-profit community arts center. TGAI fosters a cooperative relationship with local communities, giving the arts an integral role in their revitalization efforts. In 2012, this vision was further manifested through the creation of the Heritage Mural/Film Education Program.

The program is a cooperative collaboration with community groups, business and local government designed to draw economic development via the creation of landmark murals. Each mural is designed by a professional artist which is then carried out by the children of the Slate Belt, under the guidance of Totts Gap artist/mentors. The goal is to empower the students by teaching art skills and life skills while producing professional work. Our first project was the award winning, large-scale mural “Old Home Week” that reflects the history and culture of Bangor, PA.

Further murals have continued to engage residents of the community in the process from design to realization, making public art the core of community revitalization. This in turn, has lead to TGAI becoming the host of a regional “Main Street” program, the Slate Belt Community Partnership.

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