For our Chicago Marathon pop-up shop we worked with local ultramarathoner & professional muralist, Eric Harold, to hand-paint a piece sprawling the entirety of the space. We caught up with Eric briefly to learn more about him and his favorite Chicago spots...
Born and raised in Chicago?
I was born and raised on the Southside.
How long have you been an artist?
I’ve been creating art my whole life, and started identifying as an artist about 7 years ago.
Describe your art in a few words:
Expressive, Surreal, Stressed
Artistic rituals:
I spend 90% of my artistic process visualizing and studying my work. Most of core work is created spontaneous on the canvas or wall.
What makes Chicago special?
I love Chicago. The people and the architecture, the seasons. Chicago has strong rooted communities, great art, and endless entertainment. A strong blue collar workforce and cultural influences from around the world. And the food.
What’d you think of the Bandit mural?
It was very special to have the opportunity to paint at the Michigan Ave. location. The mural was so much fun to paint! Thanks for having me.
Anything else we should know: My company, Headlamp Creative Group, is an Artist owned-and-operated, mural and dynamic live-painting event-entertainment services company. We are transforming public spaces and creating modernized immersive event experiences, locally and worldwide. The name came from my past life as an ultramarathon runner where I completed over over 70 races, including two 100 mile races.
Chicago turbo round:
- Favorite Chicago store: Bandit’s pop-up of course
- Favorite Chicago neighborhood: Logan Square
- Favorite Chicago restaurant: Sausage King
- Favorite Chicago bar: Whistler
- Favorite Chicago movie: Burnt
- Favorite Chicago artist: Me
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Huge thank you to Eric for the incredible work and for taking the time!
Come by the shop this week at 333 N Michigan Ave. Open 10am-7pm, daily.