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The RIVERWALK MURAL (August - October 2002) Follow along as I do a large project, a mural, watching me solve problems as I go. Presumably, all will go well, although unforeseen things always have a nasty way of cropping up! The Project I was contacted by the new owners of the RIVERWALK, an old industrial building in Cambridge, Ontario that had been converted to a complex of shops some ten years previously. The place had a beautiful, riverside setting. Earlier renovators had made two sides of the structure quite attractive, one of these facing the river. The problem was the other two sides. They looked like an old seedy industrial structure. Unfortunately these were the views seen from the road as you drove past or approached the building.
Seen from across the river (Click any of the pictures for an enlargement)
The wall we chose for the mural is also just visible to drivers through town as they cross the bridge on the main street into Cambridge from Kitchener.
View from the King Street bridge One of the owners suggested a turn-of-the-century Paris street scene as the theme, complete with sidewalk cafes, fictitious shops etc. This was to make it look like something (of a retail nature) was going on in the building, as opposed to the abandoned warehouse look it currently had. I decided that trompe l'oeil techniques would be good to fake European architectural details. Within reason, of course.....I'd have to work with the many existing openings in the wall. I came up with a very rough sketch....and it was accepted! (They had to trust me!) On a work like this, half of it would be improvised as I got ideas.
I agreed to do the necessary preparation work on the wall. This involved scraping off old flaking paint and 10,000 spiders who made their home there. I also would patch some holes and put on a heavy base coat of acrylic primer sealer. (The entire mural will be done with acrylic exterior enamel, mostly applied with airbrush and spray guns)
To draw a mural of this size on the wall, several methods are normally used. Up close, of course, the artist can't judge anything, and, it is usually impractical to step back and view it. Therefore, everything has to be worked out to scale beforehand. The picture is then blown up on the wall, either using a system of grid lines or using an overhead projector. Neither of these options was really practical here. I blew up many of the signs etc. in my studio onto banner paper and then traced them with transfer paper on to the wall. Many of the architectural details could be drawn directly, since they were square and could be simply measured and marked. All of this has taken the better part of two weeks. I look forward to the actual painting part. After that, things will go quickly. By Tuesday, September 10, I hope to begin the actual colour work.... First actual painting done! The weather turned cooler, but sunny...ideal. Wonderful, after the heat wave! For the first painting, I applied some experimental colour to what will be faux doric columns. A lot of texture and marble patterns added, using brown. I intend to go over them with off white to lighten them, then add really dark shadows later. I put in a grey undercoat for Venus De Milo too, as well as adding a bit of green on one of the signs.
I just spent two days doing life size imitations of French posters from the 1890's to add a bit of atmosphere to the mural....here they are, finally finished....
We have strange, unpredictable weather, here in Ontario! I wouldn't have dreamed, when I started, in a sweltering heat wave, that there would be snow falling when I finished! In a matter of six weeks, we went from high summer to winter.....completely bypassing fall in the process. As I write this, I am almost done. All that remains is a few touch-ups, removing masking tape etc.
Finally finished!.....had to wait several weeks for a nice day to go down and take my final pictures....
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666 Victoria Street North, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2H5G1 Telephone (519) 578-7400 |
