Richmond-based artist Michelle Hollender loves taking something simple and raw and transforming it into a piece of art that is creative and fun. That’s why she appreciated track president Lori Waran’s vision regarding a mural Waran wanted painted on the side of a garage building at Richmond Raceway.
“Lori contacted me through my Instagram because she had seen some things I had done,” says Hollender, a mom of two who typically paints murals and portraits. “She wanted a modern approach to the raceway but in keeping with NASCAR.”
Hollender took her inspiration from the shape of tracks and the colors of NASCAR and created a Richmond mural that is large enough to be seen from a plane depending on its altitude. It took her about four weeks to complete the mural before NASCAR’s first race last April.
She kept to her theme of simplicity. “You don’t have to do more,” she says. “There are a lot of things that make an impact without it being busy.”
She enjoyed meeting Waran and found her to be very easy to work with. “She’s very responsive and positive about what she is doing,” she says. “I love seeing her in her role at the racetrack.”
Mural for All NASCAR Fans
Gina Net, who owns A Lil Touch By Gee, was also asked to do a mural at the racetrack that was geared toward the fans. “Lori wanted something bright and colorful; something that would catch the eye,” says Net, who lives in Prince George.
Net was a fan of NASCAR even before she started her mural. She had attended an event designed tp attract more African Americans to the Richmond race featuring NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace.
“When I come into the racetrack, I don’t see people that look like me — female, Black,” says Net, adding she became a fan after attending her first race. “It’s a great experience. Everyone should get the chance to go to Richmond Raceway.”
Net was responsible for painting the mural inside the pedestrian tunnel. The mural features the colors of NASCAR and a black and white silhouette of the fans. “It says thank you fans. When I went in to paint, I realized the color scheme inside the tunnel worked perfectly with the mural,” she says.
Working with Waran was awesome, she adds. “It’s dope to know it’s a female president of the raceway.”
Race Posters by The Grass Spot and RVA Coffee Stain
Graphic designer Hannah Tatum Norris and her husband, Zack, who own The Grass Spot, mainly focus on creating posters for the music industry, but when Waran asked them to create a poster for NASCAR 2024 they were happy to do so.
“We were lucky enough to get a full tour of the raceway grounds. We took photos for inspiration,” Tatum says.
When she was working on the poster, Tatum wanted to highlight that it’s everyone’s track. “We used the Richmond skyline, a good sunset background and sunset races,” she says.
The poster also shows other Richmond attractions such as the airport and the river.
“It did present some new challenges, but it was fun,” Tatum says of creating the poster. “Music posters have a color palette that is all over the place. This felt like it was a little more dialed in. We wanted it to be a little psychedelic but not too far out. We wanted it to speak to the NASCAR audience.”
She enjoyed working with Waran on the project. “She was fun and spunky. She seemed like a real boss lady, the fun kind,” she says.
Doug Orleski – his brand is RVA Coffee Stain – is known for his drawings of Richmond and the city’s landmarks. Waran asked him to create poster for the racetrack in 2023.
“I knew I wanted to do it right away because of the subject matter, Richmond, and I’d never done a poster of this scale. I also liked that it was a tight timeline,” he says. “I prefer that because I feel shorter timelines force you to trust your gut and not overthink or overwork a design.”
The goal was to blend the track with Richmond to drive home the fact that this is a Richmond event, he adds.
“I wanted a vintage vibe to the poster. That era of design and that era of racing were inspirations for the piece. They sent me lots of photos for reference and the second I saw the curve of the track I knew that was it.”
Orleski could tell how much Waran cared about the poster. “As busy as she is, her feedback was always timely and constructive. I really appreciated that,” he says.
NASCAR-Inspired Shoes by Jaden Mitchell
VCU senior Jaden Mitchell, @jaynocreates on Instagram, who makes custom stickers and decals and creates designs for sports and casual shoes, was eager to help out when Waran asked him to create some tennis shoes for her.
“She wanted some shoes specifically freestyle but NASCAR inspired, but she didn’t want to make them too colorful,” he says. “She left the creativity up to me. I instantly looked up some things on Google that relate to NASCAR that would look good on the shoes.”
Mitchell, who has created custom designed shoes for Olympian Michael Cherry and NBA player Bones Hyland of the Los Angeles Clippers, used a red, blue, yellow and black color palette on white shoes that he applied with paint and an airbrush.
“I was excited to give her the shoes,” he says. “I thought it was pretty cool.”
