Greetings from Orlando Postcard Mural - Best Street Art in ORL

Greetings from Orlando, FL! Our good friend Evan Natale set us up with the perfect wall in downtown Orlando. We arrived to the location at Uncle Tony's Donut Shoppe which turned out to be a record store (not actual donuts), and got situated for the next 5 days of painting. We came into town with a roughly planned sketch for content, but not 100% sure about the background colors. We worked with the locals to pick their brains and figure out the best palette that fit the city’s image.

We had some minor setbacks with the landlord (understandably, due to some miscommunication) but the City of Orlando happily accepted the mural in this downtown neighborhood! Mayor Buddy Dyer personally stopped by to make a friendly visit and the Orlando Sentinel documented daily behind the scenes progression.

Thank you to the great folks at Uncle Tony's Donut Shoppe for hosting us and Evan for arranging the wall & canvas. We officially have murals in all 4 geographic corners of the USA that include Seattle, San Diego & New England. However, the true Northeast state should be Maine but we hope to make that one happen soon.

Victor Ving Mural Artist with Mayor Buddy Dyer in Orlando

The mayor happened to drive by everyday on his way to work and watched our progress. He finally stopped one day to thank us for what we were doing. He was a really friendly and down to earth guy to chat with. We talked about how we came up with the ideas of what to place inside the letters. As part of our mission, we always work with the local community to come up with the imagery that we paint. While the recommendations are always subjective to everyone’s experience, our goal is to hit on landmarks, nature, history and culture. We feel that these elements encompass a timeless piece of public art that is relevant to the geographic locale.

Orlando Mural Polaroid by Lisa Beggs in Florida

Lisa’s grandfather was from Florida and actually used to shoot postcards for resorts. Therefore, our first mural in Florida had a sentimental backstory. We try to get polaroid shots of all of our completed murals. Our RV fridge does not have a metal face so we can’t stick on magnets. As a result, we use a collection of these polaroids as decor. However, we are quickly filling up the space with each mural that we paint!

At the time we were painting this mural, it seemed like Soccer was becoming a very popular sport in America. We would quickly witness the explosion of this sport throughout the country as we caught up with the rest of the world’s fanfare. It was no surprise that we got a lot of positive feedback from incorporating the Orlando City Soccer Club logo into the artwork. The Orlando Magic also gave us a ton of free magnets to give out during the painting of the mural.

Lisa Beggs Smiley Face Mamiya Vintage Camera RV

Lisa’s still uses her grandfather’s Mamiya camera to this day. The image above shows the camera capturing our smiley face back spare tire cover on the RV. Lisa’s father also made a surprise visit at the mural since he lived not too far away in The Villages. We had the opportunity to spend some time visiting him right after we completed the Greetings from Orlando mural.

The more murals that we paint, the more organized and streamlined that our process has become. As a result, we are able to complete detailed large scale murals usually within a week. It’s always helpful when there’s a lift for taller walls as it can get pretty laor intensive climbing up and down ladders!

Victor Fung & Evan Natale in Orlando on Scissor Lift in Front of Mural

For the content in the Greetings from Orlando mural, we focused on a couple of iconic landmarks. These popular local attractions included: Lake Eola, Epcot Center & Monorail (for Disney), Milk District, Tribute to Wet’n Wild and Bar BQ Bar. We actually painted ourselves inside the Lake Eola swan boat for anyone that looks at the wall art up close. We often get asked why we included Wet’n Wild into the mural when it’s no longer there. The idea actually came from many locals who had great childhood memories at the water park and it also had historical significance as the first of the franchise in the country. For the historical elements, we incorporated a tribute to the citrus industry. The background colors were also inspired by an orange fruit!

We had a wonderful experience meeting so many locals during the painting of this mural. Our hope that it will serve as a future landmark and tourist destination. At the same time, we know that it’s the locals and community that was the true force behind making this project a reality. Thank you Orlando!

Greetings from Orlando Postcard by Lisa Beggs & Victor Ving

“We really have noticed a significant increase in people visiting the mural, which almost always results in fresh new faces through the door. The mural has made our shop a landmark and almost everybody knows our business, as well as surrounding businesses because of the Greetings from Orlando mural.”

— Jonathan Santin / Owner of Uncle Tony's Donut Shoppe

“I helped Victor & Lisa find their Orlando mural location on the corner of HWY 50 & Orange Ave. Around the corner, a faded & maybe decades old, large format greetings card from Orlando billboard was scheduled soon for demolition. It was nice to give a nod to that history The mural serves as a gateway to Downtown Orlando coming from the north side on Orange Avenue. Every time I drive by, I see people pulled over to take pictures in front of the artwork. As a native Orlando-ian, I’m proud to have been a part of this amazing mural project.”

— Evan Natale