Spring Garden Porch Banner Mural

Here it is, the 40-foot banner mural I've been working on for the last few weeks! :)  The clients who commissioned this piece have a second story balcony running along the entire length of their house.  This banner was made to be hung over the railing on special occasions, for when guests come over, or just on sunny Spring days :)  The idea was to have a mural that could go up when they were in the mood to celebrate, for whatever reason.  The client and his partner love to garden, and mentioned Zinnias and Nasturtium flowers....and they are NOT afraid of bright color.  Perfect for me!  Even with a crazy month, I was able to pull this one off in time for them to use it to welcome guests to their big upcoming potluck :) It was a tight deadline, but I took the challenge, and feel good that with some strategic planning, was able to pull it off. 

I had a lot of fun painting this one.  This opens up a lot of possibilities for me and clients, too.  It makes for a mural that people can take down and put up as they please, if they're not ready for the commitment of a mural directly on the wall, or if they want to have a mural on an area that would be un-paintable.  It also opens up the possibility for me to work with clients out of my local area.  As long as I can get the measurements and concept ideas, we can work together over a distance!

I can think of no mural more Spring-appropriate than this one, and it was a nice way to ring in the season :)

Sneak Peek: A Tree of Life Mural

My current work in progress is a gigantic "tree of life" in a guest bedroom.  I'm loving working with the style and colors of this piece!  I think my favorite part of this mural is the fact that it's going to be a 3-d/mixed media mural when it's all finished!  In between the branches and flowers of this tree will be framed old black and white family photos!  I can't wait to show you how this looks when it's all painted and the photos go up.  How would YOU spice up a family photo wall?

The "tree of life" is ubiquitous and meaningful to cultures and religions all over the world.  I love all the different meanings.  Check it out:

"The concept of a tree of life has been used in science, religion, philosophy, and mythology. A tree of life is a common motif in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies. It alludes to the interconnection of all life on our planet and serves as a metaphor for common descent in theevolutionary sense. The term tree of life may also be used as a synonym for sacred tree.^[1]

The tree of knowledge, connecting to heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica,^[2] and are portrayed in various religions and philosophies as the same tree."

(Wikipedia)