Behind Flavors
- Title
- Behind Flavors
- Creator
- Lynda Grafito
Lynda Grafito was born in Colombia and resides in Minnesota, where she has made a significant impact on street art in the Twin Cities. Grafito’s work is inspired by how beautiful and diverse nature truly is. A lot of her work features animals and plants from both Minnesota and Latin America. This aspect of her work makes it easier for her to be an advocate for combating migration and environmental issues. Grafito has a lot of experience in the world between different mediums. Along with creating murals she has also worked on graphic novels in Columbia and has been a part of multiple art exhibitions in the Twin Cities. As of today, Lynda Grafito works in digital illustration, printmaking, mural making, and art teaching. You can find her work in places such as St. Catherine University's Latino and Latino MN, art exhibition, her own etsy page, and at different auctions, such as the MLB auction website as she painted the Minnesota Adirondack Chair. St. Catherine’s University is also where she has taught some printmaking classes. - Date
- Date of creation: September, 2023
Date of documentation: October 26, 2024 - Description
- The composition of this mural is unique from a lot of murals because of the layout of its subjects. In regards to balance and symmetry, this mural is quite interesting because the subjects of the piece (i.e., the bee, the butterfly, the flower, etc.) are not perfectly in line. The subjects are all off center and most of them are only partially seen, as some of the images are cut off or are not seen completely. For example, as you can see the pink flower is mostly seen, but part of the top and bottom petals get cut off from the mural. I found this to be interesting given that there are multiple different subjects of this mural. This also makes the focal points quite interesting because there are multiple and not just one subject that takes all the focus, all of the subjects have their own focus within the mural. The color palette used is one of a mix of bright and bold colors and then darker colors mostly used for outlining purposes. As you can see, subjects like the cherries, the flowers, the butterfly, etc. are all created using bright and bold reds, blues, pinks, purples, etc. On the other hand, however, the insects in the mural have some darker colors such as black and brown. All of the subjects of this mural have some sort of outline in black, which only makes the other colors seem more bright and bolder. It creates a contrast that makes the mural and its aspects stand out that much more. The colors used in this mural enhance the mood and tone because of the color choice that was utilized and the outline of black. These two aspects make the mural pop and stand out to people who are passing by. It creates a tone of positivity because of the bright colors that were used and the subjects that were used. Lynda Grafito all different types of lines in this mural to enhance the shape of the subjects. Grafito utilizes some straight lines and a lot of curved lines to create the flowers, the insects, etc. All of these lines vary in thinness and thickness. The thinness or thickness of the lines depends on which subject they are used in and how bold Grafito wanted the black outline to be. These lines help to create an emphasis on the color, given that the black paint is very contrasting to a lot of the bright colors, like the yellow paint used. The impact these lines have is that it makes the mural much more bold and they make it pop more due to the contrast between the lines and what it is they are outlining. There are also lines within the subjects, like in the body of the blue butterfly. These lines help to make the subjects more realistic and add so much to the dimension of the flowers, insects, etc. The mural’s texture was very bumpy, as that is the texture of the wall it is painted on, but the texture is also enhanced by the color variation and blending. The texture enhances the view of the mural for the people who see it because it contributes to making it more noticeable and catching peoples’ eyes. The texture helps to bring out the color and shape of the subjects of this mural. The background of this mural is a solid grey-blue color which helps to bring out the rest of the spaces that are meant to be the subject of the mural. The space used for the subject is the center of the mural and takes up the middle ground and almost the entirety of the space as some of the subjects get cut off, as mentioned previously. This creates both depth and dimension for the subjects of the mural as it makes them appear to have more shadow and uses lighter colors to show that.
- Subject
- The meaning behind this mural is meant to convey a sense of appreciation for nature and all of the components that make it up. This is why the artist decided to focus on bees and butterflies along with different kinds of fruits. This was done to show an importance of the earth’s pollinators and what they do that help humans, too. This mural was meant to show how important pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are to the food that we all eat and need. This also goes into showing an appreciation for nature and its beauty. Grafito chose to use bees and butterflies because they are native pollinators to Minnesota, where her mural is. Grafito was very intentional in what she chose to include in this mural because she wanted people to enjoy looking at it, but she also wanted it to make people think about how our food comes to be and what it takes for it to flourish.
- Rights
- Artist: Lynda Grafito
Researcher: Claire Bullard - Source
- “Lynda Grafito.” Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival, www.chromazone.net/lynda-grafito-2023. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
“Our 2024 Residents.” Tofte Lake Center, www.toftelake.org/2024residents. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
“Printmaking Workshop.” St. Catherine University, www.stkate.edu/events-calendar/printmaking-workshop-287827. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
The Official Online Auction Site of the Minnesota Twins | Minnesota Twins Auctions, twins.auctions.mlb.com/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
“Lyndagrafito.” Etsy, www.etsy.com/shop/LyndaGrafito. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
Files
Collection
Citation
Lynda Grafito Lynda Grafito was born in Colombia and resides in Minnesota, where she has made a significant impact on street art in the Twin Cities. Grafito’s work is inspired by how beautiful and diverse nature truly is. A lot of her work features animals and plants from both Minnesota and Latin America. This aspect of her work makes it easier for her to be an advocate for combating migration and environmental issues. Grafito has a lot of experience in the world between different mediums. Along with creating murals she has also worked on graphic novels in Columbia and has been a part of multiple art exhibitions in the Twin Cities. As of today, Lynda Grafito works in digital illustration, printmaking, mural making, and art teaching. You can find her work in places such as St. Catherine University's Latino and Latino MN, art exhibition, her own etsy page, and at different auctions, such as the MLB auction website as she painted the Minnesota Adirondack Chair. St. Catherine’s University is also where she has taught some printmaking classes., “Behind Flavors,” Museum in the streets: Murals in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, accessed January 20, 2026, https://mspmurals.omeka.net/items/show/39.