Tuscan Landscape Mural - Countryside Done!

I finished the countryside scene inside the archway today. Here's a couple pictures. The clients are pretty happy with it, and so am I.

I'm glad I got it done today because they are having a party on Saturday, and I wanted it to be a good stage of completion to be shown. I gave them a few of my business cards to hand out, in case any party folk are interested in their own landscape.

Tuscan Landscape Mural - Paint on the Wall

I finally started the Tuscan landscape outdoor mural today. With weather, traveling clients, and other delays, it's been a couple weeks since this project got started. But, today I was finally able to put paintbrush to wall. Here's a few photos of my progress.

The canvas.

I chose my vanishing point and taped a string to it. An old trick, but it's an easy way to figure out perspective. Do you notice the gray smug above my hand? That's from trying to erase pencil with water. Note: when painting a mural, make sure your client has more of the wall color paint. It will become your "eraser".

Mixing up my paints. I really watered down my paints this time for two reasons. One, it brushes on more smoothly and quickly on a rough surface. Two, I wanted to paint layers of washes, to build up my color, highlights and shadows.

Painting the first wash of the mountains. Using the washes allowed me to work quickly. Instead of painted each section completely, I was able to fill out every part of the painting. This helped me to make sure I did my spacing and composition correctly.

A little more detail in the washes.

So far, so good! I was able to flesh everything out. Now, I can go back and build up the details. Once the arch scene is done, I'll start working on the crumbling wall.

Little Birds on a Fence

My mom is reading garden blogs right now since going outside and working in her actual garden is too much for her allergies. She's been sending me garden decorating ideas. One of them is murals on backyard fences.

So, for Mother's Day, I painted some birds on her fence, like they are resting on the top ledge. I did a quick sketch of  a character, trying to keep it uncomplicated. I used acrylic paints because they are the most durable for outside murals.

The fence was old and weathered, so I started out with drawing the shapes, then sanding down the fence to get off dirt, dust and moss. I probably should have hosed it off first, but I was trying to be quick.

I knew painting on the fence would be rough, so I kept the shapes and colors simple. The metal fence and shell bowl on the picture above were taken down after this shot.

The final step will be seal it with a varnish to keep out the weather.

Next up for mom's fence, lizards!

Illustration Friday - Cocoon

Okay, I paint this last month, but I thought it fit perfectly for this week's Illustration Friday topic. I mean, what is a better definition of "to envelop or surround protectively" than a mother lovingly holding her new baby? Happy Mother's Day!!