Hoya Vine Mural

 The Hoya plant, a succulent creeper vine with fragrant, delicate flowers, has graced this sitting room for a long time.  My job, was to celebrate the plant by continuing its vines all along the big bay windows in the room.  I really loved the final look of this, especially in the areas where the real vine was growing right over my painted vines!  Another creative take on a mural with 3-d elements.  My mural clients are always amazing me with their great ideas, and I'm always happy to help bring them to life.

 I recently got interviewed by someone about what I do, and she asked me, "What do you think about when you paint a mural?".  "Nothing, if I can help it!"  I told her.  I like to listen to podcasts or music with lots of lyrics, so that my mind won't have room to start thinking it's own thoughts, but just listen to others'.  If I think too much about what I'm doing, over-analyzing, second guessing and trying to rationalize my creative decisions, it can take me out of my "flow" and ruin things.  Of course there are times when I have to really think when I'm painting, to figure out perspective or something, but I guess what I mean is that I try to eliminate negative or doubting "self-talk" that is not constructive, and just trust in my own instincts as much as possible.

Having recently been asked about all this, while I was painting this mural, I observed my emotions more closely.  When I'm painting a mural, especially a repetitive one like this one, my brain and body go in and out of a trance-like meditation.  Is this what runners feel when they are running at their best? "Bliss", "Flow", "Meditation", whatever you want to call it, I am grateful to experience it in my own way.