I came into this project (a lovely home in south Tulsa), not knowing what to expect. The client was very savvy when it comes to decor, and her tastes in furnishings, impeccable. Initially the client was looking to have a little trompe l'oil brick painted here and there throughout the house. I am always a little dubious about this treatment because it does not always work. That is, it doesn't always flow with the home's architecture or decor. Such was the case with this home, for it had that sophistication about it. It really was not suited for painting that ancient crumbling plaster look, though it definitely has that Old World appeal about it, just not "that old," if you know what I mean. What my eyes saw though was something the client never thought of looking at as a way to infuse mural art. There on the south wall in a large room was this massive, fantastic hand carved faux fireplace. Now imagine - the walls are nearly 10 feet and this faux fireplace was 8 feet tall and about 6 1/2 feet wide! It had a very large faux hearth opening, 4 feet x 5 feet. In front of it was one of those typical painted fireplace screens. Oh it looked alright, but man what a waste of space is what I thought.
Well the long and short of it is this: When the client told me she wanted some trompe l'oeil bricks painted here and there throughout the place I said, "No, you don't want that." She looked at me like... "Huh" and said, "Well yeah, I think I do. Or what do you see for this space?" Man, I love it when people give the artist some respect! You know we all have our gifts and callings, but we are not always able to see everything worth considering. So for me, it truly is refreshing when a client can rely on me to give a suggestion and not feel threatened or intimidated. My number one priority is to please my customer... but not at the sake of reputation or the quest for fast cash.
I explained that I felt the rustic, exposed brick idea, in my opinion, did not really go with her home's architecture and decor. My wife suggested a faux finish on the walls to give it that warmth she hoped to attain by adding the trompe l'oeil exposed brick. I then suggested she let me create some custom Old World charm by painting a series of murals for her beautiful faux fireplace hearth. She was not even considering this as an option, but here again, a client that feels confident in you, will place trust in your ability as well. Such was the case here and once the walls were faux finished and the stark white base and crown molding were glazed, the client, knowing what she wanted, asked me to paint one section of exposed brick....what!!!????
Well we all had a laugh as I laid out a corner and painted my best trompe l'oeil exposed brick. The client had left the home to run some errands and when she walked in she took one look at the exposed brick and said, "You're right. It doesn't work." More laughter as we painted it back out and applied the faux finish over it to match the rest. The client went ahead and commissioned me to paint a series of (3) murals for the faux fireplace.
THE CONCEPT
- What, Where and When:
The mural artist knows that whimsy (= fun), as well as a sophistication and charm all come into play when painting a mural. It is the perfect vehicle to introduce personal touches to, in this case, a home. For instance, adding a portrait of a client's dog, cat or bird. Maybe the love of a sport (golf for instance), or a certain sport's car, airplane or boat. And of course there is always the portrait option. If done carefully and tastefully, a mural can really entertain the viewer where the typical couch (wall/framed art), can not.
For my ideas I talked with my client about the opportunity in adding in some whimsy and she thought immediately that she and her husband's dogs would be great candidates for the mural series. I took several photographs of the two pups to study and went to the shop to start my work-up. In my interview I also noted that my client's lived on a golf course, that he loved golf and had several old hickory shafted clubs. He was also a sports car enthusiast and owned a beautiful red Ford Cobra. I also learned that their favorite holiday was Christmas. Great, well I had three panels to paint, and they wanted seasonal options, i.e., one for spring and summer, one for the holiday season (Christmas) and one for just winter.
Here is what I came up with - 3 mural panels painted on masonite and affixed to the space with velcro for easy removal.
This is what the faux fireplace looks like without a mural.
We had just finished the walls. The wood work had not yet been glazed.
SPRING and SUMMER panel.
Featuring the client's dogs, old golf club and car (in miniture)
the real thing is in the garage.
Christmas Panel - "Santa's Been Delayed"
Close-up of "Santa's Been Delayed"
Winter - "A Warm Hearth a Cozy Fire"
A full picture showing the size of the room and faux fireplace.
Did you get any good information out of this article? We talked about how to interview your client. How the artist looks beyond the norm and offers art that sets a space apart from the typical design solutions of wall hangings, wrought iron and the like. Did you get the importance of suggesting personality into a mural?
Paint On!
The Mural Man
No comments:
Post a Comment