The initial request came in for a
wall painting of a very subtle and
somewhat abstract nude
The Lillys directed me to
two photos they had seen
on my website:
After further discussion,
I started drawing...
The next step was to do
some practice sketches
on my studio wall...
Finally, it was time to set
up shop at the Lillys'.Phase 1 was to measure
and tape off a box on the
wall. I always like to do that...
A tricky thing was that the wall
had lovely green faux paint
the Lillys wanted to preserve.
Basically, I had one shot once I
began putting the paint on the
wall. I decided to do the initial
wall sketch using chalk.
(couldn't get a clear shot of the chalk)
I was planning on doing many sketches on the wall to get just the right one. In the end, I was able to draw the first sketch in a matter of minutes. Amazingly, the Lillys said "That's her!".
I decided to leave it at that and
let the Lillys live with the chalk-
sketch for a week to make suuuuuuuuuuuure.
By the next week, the Lillys
were certain that this abstractish woman wall sketch was indeed
what they had envisioned. I then
painted the figure line with subtle, gray oil paint -- the idea
being to darken sthe line in phases.
They live with her for another
week. They had wanted
something very subtle and
the more I darkened the line,
the less subtle the painting
would become.
Fast-forward a week -- after
much debate -- another coat
of that same color was added
getting the line to the darkness
level that the Lilly's desire -- a
level where you see her on the
wall, but she's very subtle.
Because of the amount of time spent doing advance prep work, the actual painting took minimal time and was comprised of minimal paint.I really like that. The Lillys do
too. That is what you call one
happy ending.
Note: At the time I finished the mural, we left open the possibility that in the future we might fill in the figure with shading and/or color. To date (a year
later) that has not happened, but who
knows?
Special thx to the Lillys for approaching me about the project. I feel it is very important for folks to be involved in the creative process if the finished piece is something that will be so much a part of their daily lives. If not for the Lillys' keen sense of design and style, I could
never have included them to such an extent.
LAB
Meet Molly --
resident Lilly pooch
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Contact: nsr@texas.net