I really enjoy commissioned work. There's something really appealing to me about the artist-client relationship where I can be challenged to utilize my skills and talents to create something from my own hands and in the process work at bringing someone else's idea, vision, picture into something tangible and concrete. Occasionally I get the opportunity to be hired to paint a wall mural somewhere. The hard surface of a vertical wall and the placement of that wall in relation to the other objects or spacial qualities of the room, etc., can add it's own challenges to the process.
I liken myself sometimes to a chef bringing their own knives to a job as I come prepared with my roll up pouch of brushes and painting tools wherever I am asked or hired to paint.
Perhaps like a mechanic who probably prides themselves in how much grease and grime is on their hands after a days work, I too find that I revel in the amount of paint color I just seem to naturally get on my hands, my shoes, my clothes, and just about anything in my splatter range after a hard days work painting. When painting wall murals I typically utilize water based latex house paints for the easiest application and clean up process. It also makes it easier for coverage if the wall is going to be repainted in the future.
To start a mural I typically project the image that I'll be painting onto the wall using an overhead projector or an enlarger projector. Then I trace around the outline of the image with chalk to give myself an outline of where to paint. This technique is very helpful when working with detailed images or images that might be well known by the public (like a movie persona or scene). With this most recent mural project (which was in the Book Cellar bookstore located in Vineyard Boise church in Garden City - a neighborhood of Boise) I had been hired to recreate some of my own studio paintings (with some personalized additions and changes) onto a concrete block wall in a bookstore...being that the imagery was well known to me (having been original ideas of mine) I chose not to use the projector. Instead I freehanded the chalk outlines to give myself a general idea of where I wanted things.
My first task was to create the look of a used drop cloth as the background to the three paintings I was recreating. This tromp l'oeil (trick of the eye) effect was part of the request of the bookstore as we contracted. The challenge for me was to make the "drop cloth" look like it had paint spills and splatters with out actually physically splattering and making a mess on the wall. The main reason for this was that the location of the wall that I was painting was above a large music CD shelf and close by were several book shelves and tables with new merchandise on them. I did my best to cover and protect things but I needed to "reign myself in" on my "action painting" expressions. The other reason was that the wall was vertical. Typically a drop cloth is placed on the ground where a painter is painting and so drips and splatters and messes are created from above the cloth. With the wall being vertical I had to figure out how to paint those drips and splatters and messes to look like they had been created from above instead from the side.
The first "painting" is titled "Fill Me Up". The imagery in this painting is of books, writing materials, and a coffee mug. Reading, studying, writing, while sharing a cup of coffee fits well into this bookstore that is housed inside Vineyard Boise church. I painted a little N4 on the coffee mug (this is representing a motto that Vineyard Boise has regarding reaching out to the community in it's immediate surrounding of Garden City "In Garden City, For Garden City")...it's a reminder that as we are filled up with God's love we must be poured out to others. It's all about loving much and loving well.
The second "painting" is titled "Sing Over Me". The imagery is of three birds flying. The birds represent the presence of the Trinity in our lives...watching over, caring for, and delighting in. Worship (the act of spending time with, honoring & revering, serving & giving, learning & growing, singing & expressing through the creative arts, loving and living for God) is a huge value of how those who attend the Vineyard actively try to live their lives.
The third "painting" is titled "Rain Down On Me". The imagery is of the skyline of the city of Boise. It features a rainy sky pouring out over the city of Boise. The rain represents God's Spirit (filled with love) pouring out over the city we live in to empower us all to love those within our community.
Here is the finished wall mural. Each of the "paintings", which were based on three of my original paintings, together became one large painting of its own.
One last added piece to the mural...just as I was finishing up, the manager of the bookstore (who enjoys a bit of fun) asked me to add in a "Where's Waldo?" sort of mystery. Upon his request I painted a tiny T.A.R.D.I.S. from Dr. Who hidden somewhere on the "drop cloth" background. It's moments like this that I'm reminded of how much I really enjoy the artist-client relationship!
Fact is...the police box travel machine actually fits in with the theme of the three paintings I created in this bookstore. When you stop and think about how books and music and movies (all sold in the bookstore) allow us to be carried away into stories, characters, time periods, places, points of view, understandings. They help us to learn from the past and look to the future by engaging in today and becoming who we are supposed to be...it makes sense.
Fill us up. Sing over us. Rain down on us.
I really love being an artist and getting to do this sort of thing for a living!
If you are interested in seeing the mural I created in person (along with several other murals I've painted in the Book Cellar over the past few years) you can stop in to the Book Cellar located in Heritage Hall at Vineyard Boise church (T-F 9am-5pm, Sun 8am-1pm) to check it out. The church is located at 4950 N. Bradley St. Boise, ID 83714.
www.vineyardboise.org
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