Mural for Rude Choppers

April 25, 2026

This is the first mural we have done under the Running Horse name. However it is not the first mural we have done.

Alex, Rude Choppers shop owner, is an established chopper builder and has just opened up a location in Albuquerque. The space is taking over the bones of what was Vietnamese restaurant, and needed a facelift. Alex reached out about a mural and we got to work.

After measuring the murals space, I illustrated something up.

Since its a chopper shop, the art had to reflect that, I took inspiration from David Manns Ghost Rider piece, and indigenized it.

Once the illustration on 'paper' was finalized we had to create patterns and mix the paint colors.

(i have a video of the electro pouncing action 'burning' the patterns. If i can figure out what an iframe link is it will be uploaded. if i cant, just imagine an electric pencil that shoots lightening bolts thru the paper creating small holes and a very annoying sound.

Day 1 (on the wall.)
We coated out the wall with a zinzer basecoat, this protects the wall and coats out the entire canvas area of the wall getting it ready for the mural.
Short lunch break while it dried, then we 'patterned' the wall.

This is the two of us rolling out the burned patterns, holding to every square inch of the wall and patting charcoal thru the burned holes.

This leaves a dusty pattern that we then draw in with a combination of pencils and sharpies.

The end of Day 1 we completed coat out and draw in.

Day 2

We start putting color on the wall. Marcine color matches and mixes the paint for this mural, she then splits them up so we can work from the same colors.

The murals Marcie and I have done together she paints pretty much everything that isnt letters or qr codes, and I paint the letters and qr codes. In the WallDog world, letters are apprentice work, images are big dawg work. This wall there are no letters, I had to step my game up and got a crash course on blending enamel paint over stucco and metal.

There Marcie is teaching the art of the blend to both Cactus Eddie and I.

The amount of paint coverage Marcine can lay down in a day should be studied.

This is how the end of the first day of paint looked.

not a great shot due to the sun being behind the wall, but some monumental coverage.

Day 3
more paint!

oh wait, before i get to day 3. i forgot to introduce our newest piece of equipment.

New Equipment Shoutout!!!singlestack bakers scafolding! We got tired of borrowing from friends now marcie doesnt have to worry about paletteing on the platform. We drove out to the Kewa Pueblo to grab this set, found on craigslist! There was an adorable traffic jam driving thru Kewa.

We had to wait a few minutes while 10 or so horses crossed the street. anyway back to
Day 3

Sun off the wall but still on Marcine. The sun was on the all till about 2 every day.

We got a short assist from Cactus Eddie today. And we see a glimer of hope that we might finish on thursday. Eddie in uniform and ready to sling paint.

Look at that, proof that I actually did put some paint on the wall.

Progress of day 3 (shot the following morning in the sun)

Day 4
We were really hoping to knock this one out on day 4. But we also didn't want to work more than 6 hours a day on this. with commute times thats 9 hours away from our dogs. *spoiler it took 5 days

Marcie checking out my blending still with a slight bit of hope that we could knock it out by the end of the day.

We almost did.

end of day 4so close.

Day 5
and forreal the final day. (until we go back for UV/graffiti coatout)

Start of day 5

Not to happy to be spending her last in New Mexico on a wall before she flys to paint a mural somewhere else.

On a positive note, we got Cactus Eddie back for the final day! which helped us make quick work of the final day. We really only put in another 2 hours of paint.