Something a little different.

Last week I took a break from my transparent world of watercolor and my managable 20" x 30" scale and tried something different.

Opaque/Latex with a 5' x 8' scale.  I created mural for my daughter's new room.

She had a specific idea and as a client she was quite particular about the design. I wonder where she get's that?

The application process

It was interesting to change gears, a great exercise. The problem solving and the design process remain the same. But the application is completely different. It reminds me of the design steps and forces me to NOT skip a step. Since I'm not used to this process I can't be lazy.  

From reference photos to tracing paper.
But, the image isn't working.... too busy.
 



Revised Design....simplify!!!!
 



Color study.

It was fun to pull out the old markers. I used to love preparing comps with these.  

Does anyone use markers anymore?
Photoshop is great, but it was fun to color again.











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After carefully blocking out the wall into 12" x 12" squares I blocked in the design block by block. It's hard to see, but I traced a grid on the wall with pencil. It's the secret to taking a small image and keeping it to scale when you enlarge.

A little more detail. It's very graphic at this point, sharp contrast.

More color. The image Katy wanted was very organic. So I blended three shades of grey to create the value changes necessary to create depth. I had to rethink my application process as opaque paint works exactly opposite from what I am used to for solving this problem.

Wow, that was scary!

And now for the highlights.  See how they bring the image to life?

Ta Da!
Mission accomplished!
Daughter approved. Whew! 

Okay, time to get back to my comfort zone. But this was fun!