Dramatic change came to the nondescript cinderblock side of the building on the southeast corner of Hope and Franklin Streets, over a span of a couple of days last week, as an artist contracted by Dirty Blonde Salon painted a dramatic image of a blonde woman in sunglasses over a pink setting sun background.

Passersby were complimentary, with one neighbor suggesting a number of other locations around town where cinderblock structures might make for good artistic canvases.

The artist, Sam Malpass, hails from Rye, New Hampshire. She connected with Dirty Blonde through Rhode Island Rebounds, an initiative by the State Commerce Department to invest small business owners (among others) through utilization of the American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Funds.

A full-time artist and muralist, Malpass has traveled extensively, picking up inspiration for her work with every passport stamp. She studied in Spain (Salamanca and Barcelona) and Australia (Sydney) before getting her degree in Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in New York City. She also pursued an artist in residency program in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“I do a lot of stuff on canvas,” she said. “But my favorite thing to do is large scale murals like this.” She has done two others locally: at Chomp in Warren and La Vecina Taqueria in Newport.
To see more of Malpass’ work, visit sammalpass.com.