Although the self-taught artist Malou Flato works in a variety of mediums, she is best known for tile-based public murals. In this pair of murals, Flato merges a realistic style with stylized design elements. The untitled works are loosely based on events which Flato experienced in the San Antonio area. On one she depicts an audience in a stadium while the subject of the second mural is a group of children sliding down a hill. She refers to this line of production as her “wallpaper people.” Typically, Flato first works on large watercolor studies on paper. This method enables her to approach the themes and subjects of her murals as one would a continuous roll. “I never stop the paint at the edge of a single tile,” Flato has stated of her process. Her use of tiles reflects an interest in both materials and process. Terracotta ensures the longevity of these works, since the tiles are weather resistant, while tiles enable Flato to structure her compositions around the grid-like pattern resulting from the arrangement. Moreover, as in many of her celebrated mural commissions, tiles allow the artist to produce the individual tiles over time in her studio. Flato first glazes the tiles white and then decorates each of them watercolors, allowing for the terracotta background to blend through the design. Flato lives and works out of Austin, Texas and Paradise Valley, Montana.