Transferring the Image

Decisions. I have little problem making decisions. It was not always so easy. At one point I had trouble deciding what to have for supper. No more. It is a good thing. Every time I pick up a pencil or a brush there are a thousand decisions to be made. As I mentioned last week, there turned out to be one extra square along the width in my grid. I wanted to move the images slightly to the right so I placed my figures one more square to the right. I begin with some phantom drawing. Phantom drawing allows me to put the major shapes in the correct place without locking me into a final position. Phantom because it is light, barely visible. Usually I do not use an eraser. I rely on the contrast of my final marks to outweigh the first so they do disappear. The first marks are geometric, circles, flowing curves, rectangles. Having drawn the head ovals in the appropriate square and in the approximate proportion I left my preliminary sketch behind in favour of the original photograph. It quickly became apparent that the sketch had not been accurate. I became ever more grateful for the extra five inches. Other decisions were made along the way such as using the foliage as a more complete separation from one grouping to the next. And there is always one challenging drawing in every group. Again I was thankful for the extra room as I took a wet rag and erased the whole thing to replace it one square to the left this time…. Watercolour pencil. Love it! There is a lot of green or turquoise in the mural. I had chosen Shiraz as my drawing colour. Complementary. I love complementary colours. This is going to work beautifully!

Gridding the Mural

Over the years I have tried all kinds of different methods for transferring the image onto mural panels. Often I have used a projector. In this case I really did not wish to destroy my drawing (it is frame worthy) in order to fit it into the clamps in the projector so I opted for an age old method of transfer: gridding. Usually when I grid something I use a fairly large dimension for the breakup, a simple centre repeated twice so the image is broken into eight segments each horizontally and vertically. This time I used a smaller square because of the amount of detail in the image. I suspected I would get a far more accurate drawing. It takes a while to grid a nine by thirteen foot sheet in five inch squares. I decided to run a line of squares across the top to find out if my ratio was correct. It ended up one more square than the original. One more square and an inch and a half. I ran the square down the height and found I had about an inch left over. Mmmm. I could use some extra room at both ends. Moving the images slightly one way on another would give me the wiggle room I needed for accurate proportions and a less cramped result. It is amazing what an inch can do. Three hours later I decided to give my back a rest. Bookwork anyone? 

Fun and Easy!

Yes, we were ready for the fabric. So do I tape it to the support? Screw it on? Nails? Masking tape has always been a staple for my watercolours. I thought perhaps it would be sufficient to hold the fabric in place. And it was until I attempted to install the second sheet. The bolt of fabric was short so the forty-eight inches needed to be expanded to seventy-two. The mural is split into two sections. The first is six feet by thirteen feet. The lower part is three by thirteen. Since the surface of the building has a one to two inch lip from top section to bottom section the mural must be split. So… a two foot addition needed to be attached to the first piece. I wanted a relatively smooth surface. Sewing was not appropriate. I decided to treat the material like paper and left an extra bit of width to glue to the first sheet. Good plan. Now if I could just get the second sheet to line up with the first…. Oops! The whole thing came tumbling around me ears. Another advantage to using fabric! I do not get hurt when the sheets crash around my ears…. I just get frustrated. So. Yes. Back to the first list. My first choice had not been a good one; I did not like the others. I gazed around my studio and my eyes grazed the small pill container holding some craft pins. That is it! I did manage to get the two sheets up on the frame but with the force of gravity and the subtly of the material I could not pin it well enough to have it lay flat, one against the other. Time to glue them together. Laying the frame on the floor once more I removed the pins and suddenly I no longer had ripples in my project. A little gel, a little molding paste and all I had to do was wait for it to dry. Mmmm. Watching paint (or glue) dry was my cue to leave for the day. Tomorrow I would paint.

Framing a Mural

Using fabric for a mural is new to me. Usually I swing four by eight foot half inch sheets of plywood around painting two at a time in order to remain consistent in the colour and tonality of the image. This method also requires screws, drill bits and two electric drills so I avoid plugging and unplugging and changing bits. I thought about the fabric for a while. It was recommended that I work on the floor. There are several drawbacks to that. One is my age. I am getting too old to crawl around on cement for very long. Another is the lack of backup space. I like to retreat into the shadows to determine if what I have done is balanced, focused, well designed. Getting distance between me and what I am working on is one of the essential ingredients to doing a good job. So I had a problem. For the plywood I had constructed a frame out of one by two inch spruce with angle irons but it was too small. I needed something at least thirteen feet long and six feet high. Could I stretch the fabric? It is not canvas. Often during the night inspiration comes to me when I am grappling with a problem. And so it was this time. Coroplast. I have several sheets in the attic of the garage which I used as display boards for my student shows in the summer. Things have changed. They were gathering dust. I expanded the frame and brought down four sheets to cover the wood and strengthen it. A little white duct tape smoothed the crevices. We were ready for the fabric.

Why Artists Need Space

One of the differences between hobbyists and professionals is the space they require. Many artists I know work on the kitchen table or in a corner of some other room. That is where I started too. Picking up and putting away was one of the drawbacks to this arrangement. It discouraged starting again. Painting is messy. Moving into the garage was heaven. There is a drawback to this as well: the cars remain outside and we choose to scrape windows in the winter…. Murals occasion another strain on the space. The other day I rearranged my studio. At present I am working on two large pieces in the “Eve” series and the next step involves graphite powder. Now graphite powder is dirty. It may or may not be part of the mural I am working on. However, with the upper part of the mural on the floor there is about twelve inches of squeeze space between projects and no room to back up. Placing graphite powder on a vertical surface is not the most efficient way to do things and the horizontal space has been occupied. So I took a cup of hot water (my preferred beverage), sat down and contemplated the drying paint. Yes, it was going to take longer than I expected. Leaving my studio early, I decided to do some bookwork instead. It is definitely more interesting than watching paint dry….

Dragon

Did someone mention a dragon? I have come a long way. At one time I was suspicious of anyone who liked dragons. I suspected my son of demonic possession and refused to paint his walls black. Thankfully he has grown up into a nice young man who is still passionate about dragons. The dragon world is unlike any other. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see the process another artist took in order to create his masterpieces. It sounded reasonable to me so, as I was waiting at a local coffee shop, I began doodling shapes on the page, manipulating the possibilities and finally came up with a handsome head. Yes, this one had personality. I brought the sketch home, added a body and presented the preliminaries to my client. There were quite a few adjustments to be made. My dragon looked more like a dinosaur, an unlikely candidate for flying…. So off came the pounds…I wish I could do that so easily! I flipped him to show off his wings and again showed the sketch to my client. Getting closer. A few more adjustments and I transferred the sketch to mylar. Mylar is a very accommodating format. Plastic paper. It has a good tooth and can easily be manipulated and adjusted with a kneaded eraser. Such fun. As is usual with most artwork the drawing took on a life of its own. The wings were suddenly transparent and the castle walls moved into a shape that allowed two knights to defend the fortress. The stonework kept me entertained for hours. Lovely.

Splishsplash/plocplouf

I am always experimenting. Tonight, as I type at my computer, I cannot help but notice the paint all over my fingers. No one who sees me doubts what I do during the day… Most of them suspect I paint walls and, on occasion, I do. In a way I was painting walls today. The mural has taken over my studio. Undercoats, patiently drying, more undercoats. In the meantime I am always considering the next challenge, perhaps a different mix of colour or another ingredient, maybe some thread. With the graphite powder defining the value and the shape of each rock I was a little concerned that “Splishsplash” would be too dark. I continued with the layers of colour, darker and darker. Then came the foam, the swirls, the dappled light. Ah yes, let’s dance. By the way the St. Albert Painters' Guild is coming up quickly. We open 7pm on April 15th.

Splishsplash

Hop! Skip! Jump! Again!

Perseverance gains the cup.

Bitter or sweet? Choose.

Plocplouf
Sautons, et encore!
On glisse, on tombe, on rigole,
on se plaint. Un choix.

(Ps 111: 4-6)