Elevator mural

[blackmare]

Kestrel, detail of mural on plate glass panels of an elevator shaft. Yep, an elevator. In a home. The house came that way and the owner doesn't like or ever use the elevator, and the shaft is glass on 3 sides so you could see into it -- and it was UGLY in there. So I was hired to solve that problem by painting the glass. Very unusual and fun job.

Comments

[moonvoice]

That. Is. AWESOME!!!! :D

[blackmare]

*beams*

See, THIS is why I love my job. This was hella scary -- you should have seen the scaffold setup I had to work from in order to do those upper sections -- but what a thing to get to do!

Right now I am working on the second of 3 dog portraits I've had to do. First was finished and delivered yesterday; posted to my account just now and already picked up another commission for a kitty (!! <3 <3 <3).

Current one's due tomorrow afternoon, so I'd better get back to it.

[black_hound]

Absolutely stunning!

[blackmare]

Thank you! It's not every day I get to play with such an unusual format. I've been a muralist and fine artist a long time, and this was kind of a first.

I got the "added to reading list" notice just now and so I was poking around on your profile and I see you're an old pro artist too. Cool. More the merrier, say I.

I'm hoping that if I start posting here this comm will begin to pick up some steam. Looks like a few folks must be watching it but not many posts in a while.

Editing to add that looking at your journal, I see you're also a fan of using black and white media on toned paper. I highly recommend Rives BFK Tan. It's a printmaking paper, cotton rag, rich and velvety. Has a great tooth for dry media, but you can also paint on it without it buckling.

And you can get a nice brown sketch book from ... drat, I forget the company's name, but if you Google up "Earthbound sketch book" you'll find it. Very nice lightweight paper, great color, acid-free. I love it, but it's too thin to take washes. Dry media or linear pen-and-ink without washes, it's great for.

I will never understand why good tan artist's paper is so hard to get. It's the best thing EVAR.

[black_hound]

OH HAI.

Thanks for the info about the paper sources. Tan paper is my absolute favorite for toned work.

And yeah, OLD SCHOOL artist working as a graphic designer. *ugh* Really wish I could make a living without the computer, but it is what it is. *g*

I swear I've seen that toned sketch of the little hamster/gerbil that wasn't on DW. A separate blog? I just love that little guy.

[blackmare]

Oh, yes, Torley! The dwarf hamster. You may have seen him on LJ. I posted him there, and he was a commission for a friend there so you could have seen him on her journal, too.

That drawing is mixed pencils and wash on Rives BFK Tan. <3 so much. Seriously, go to Blick.com or somewhere if you don't have a local store, and order some of that paper for yourself. It is pure bliss.

I have frequently wished I had computer art skills, as that seems to be what's most in demand, but I don't. Sooooo, onward to Dog Portrait the Third in the next few days. It is nice to be wanted, and especially nice to pay the rent.

[supermouse]

Wow, that's really rather fine. I love the way you've used the three panels to give three very distinct compositions that still work as a whole. The top one is delightfully whimsical in mood (I do not, btw, mean this as any sort of veiled insult - top kestrel is awesome and you've got a real deftness and lightness of touch that most people can only dream of emulating). That's one glorious mural.

[blackmare]

Hi, and thank you!

I get what you mean about that bit of whimsy. It shows up in a lot of things I do, and it's generally intentional. I ought to post some of the stuff where I have really run with it.

I am out and about, and need to locate a bank branch and get there before they close, so I'll drop in after I get home and put up some new things.

[randombees]

You've turned something useless into something visitors to this home will surely envy. Soon, everyone will want an empty elevator shaft covered in nice art. :D

[blackmare]

Thanks so much. I'm proud of what I've done, and it was certainly cheaper than the massive remodeling job that would be required to get rid of the elevator!

Right now I am wondering whether or not to spam this community with more art. I'm hoping others will start to post things if I make the comm show up on their pages and remind them that it exists.