Paint is on the fly in my studio these days as I
endeavour to complete the four panels for the mural by the end of the month… My
watercolour is all wrapped in plastic for protection. I think I am dreaming about finishing since all sorts of other
commitments are filling my schedule, like a retreat next weekend… Sigh. I could
use that little word more often I suppose, you know the one… Just two letters
long, it packs such a punch! It also helps with prioritizing. Still, everything
I said “yes” to is fun. And the work will get done, well in time. At the
moment I am contemplating how many layers of different colour I will add to the
horses. The more coloured layers there are the more alive their coats appear.
That is, of course, trusting that I have everything else necessary in place,
especially tonal values. I imagine the middle horse is black which means it
will have more blue than red or orange. The others are different shades of
brown, one more red than the other. This is all in my imagination for, indeed,
my reference is black and white. I am thankful I can imagine flesh tones and
the way cloth falls across knees and arms. Yes, I am changing what the people
are wearing as well. I am so thankful as well for all the hours I put in
drawing endless studies of drapery…. Nothing is ever wasted. Life is good.
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| Lining things up |
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| Back into storage |
This is what a nine foot by fifteen foot mural looks like on an eight foot by six foot support wall…. I am so thankful for grid marks! I am also thankful the image did not require moving up and down as well as side to side. Skies are lovely! So beautifully empty! Well, not really. I may or may not leave the sky as is; that is determined by how the painting looks once I have filled in the fields and the people. It may need another coat of blue…. In the meantime both sections had to come together in order for me to continue the image cohesively from one door to the next. Yes, this part of the mural will be on two nine foot by seven and a half foot doors, something like Quonset doors is my understanding. The first part of the horse must meet with the second part of the horse when the doors are closed…. Most of the time I try to avoid bringing straight lines across two separate segments. If the installation is not perfect, everyone will know…. After several attempts to adjust the harness in order to avoid the possible problem I decided to anticipate perfect installation. As you can see the table is strewn with various photographs of horses with and without harness. Mostly I needed legs in the correct positions and some understanding of various bridles. The swather is still a mystery. It is easier to put highlights in the correct positions when I know what is going on. Some further research is in order. That is for another day. I will need to place these two sheets together once more: to match the paint. After all, it is one horse in the middle and the colour needs to be consistent. I love my work! Never a dull moment.
So good to have some wiggle room! My tabletop is
now my false wall support for the newest mural…. A little shy on dimensions,
the wall measures eight feet by six feet and the smallest mural size is nine
feet by seven feet. So now I am into
drawing the image on the surfaces. The set of four are actually three separate
images taken from two photos. Two of the panels are the same size and two are
slightly larger. When I went to begin the transfer I discovered the grid had to
be changed for the two central panels. I decided to draw the outside panels
first as they are taken from the same photo and I am adding a fictional figure
as I split the mother/father into two images. The central panels are really one
image so at some point I may install the two nine by seven and a half feet
together on my false wall. Do the math….. they do not fit…. I am so grateful I
am dealing with fabric and not rigid wood sheets. As I began the central panel
drawing I realized I had placed the horizon line at the incorrect level on the
first two sheets. Sigh. The best laid plans of mice and men, women too. It is
an easy correction, thankfully. The other challenge is the shadow area on the
photo cannot be deciphered easily. In fact I can see no detail whatsoever. This
presents a bit of a problem as I will be inventing horse legs and harness. The
horses have been one of my favorite subjects for many years so that is
solvable. I know nothing about harness. It may require some research. Fort
Edmonton, here I come! The sacrifices I make as an artist…. I think I will go
with a friend…. Life is good.
“Invitation: to hear” is now complete. Before I
embarked on painting the next in the series I undertook to research some photos
and organize the following few images
alternating between horizontal and vertical. I like variety. I then took the
time to draw in the grid and transfer, collage, amalgamate the various source
photos onto a new watercolour sheet. It will wait in the wings as I paint the
picture I had already previously drawn. Completing everything before I begin
another has a negative effect on my creative inspiration. I tend to come to a
dead halt. There seems to be a necessary link between having several images in
various media on the go at once and creative flow. At the moment I have a
nagging mixed media itch that I have been ignoring for some time. I simply do
not have the space in which to experiment or begin a new mixed media series.
This could be dangerous… but I have a plan. Instead of beginning the new series
once the murals are done, I will take some used hardboard, seal it, prep it and
have fun. There are so many ideas I wish to try. Once back in the flow I will
begin my new series while continuing with watercolours at the same time. In the meantime I begin the next in the
“Invitation” line while I wait for paint to dry on the murals. Love it!
