Cold or dark-colored office spaces (at home or at work) often benefit from a moderate to a major face-lift. ...And spaces that bubble with creative energy make me want to stay and play or.. do really deep work.
At least, that's what I aimed for with this aqua and white stripe mural for an office overlooking a leafy parking lot.
I originally was inspired by the vertical stripe pattern embedded in the architecture of the old building. However the big blue sky above and a solid line of trees, three-canopies deep, gave me even more inspiration!
In the end, although I designed a simple geometric rough draft, I ended up breaking free of the bands. The Dis-ease-That-Could-Not-Be-Named, was still having a field day in late 2020 and I wanted to express my own brand of freedom in in the midst of world madness.
The first draft became the foundation for random leaf-like doodles, that in end, resulted in an effect both unexpected and delightful.
I'm finding that working this way with fluid acrylic, with just a hint of structure and a whole lot of organic, free-roaming creative flow, leaves me so much more energized.
Granted, murals can break one's back - literally. Plus, inviting Murphy to come play, well...is asking for double trouble. Thank god, acrylic is so forgiving! Watercolor, ink and gouache - not so much.
In contrast though, in the rest of my artistic life, my default mode tends towards the precisely-executed art piece that requires: detailed investigative research, reference images, a mood board, a color palette, thumbnails, rough drafts, final drafts, color studies, final art and digital editing. Heavens!
Well, that's my default mode when I need the outcome to be a tad more predictable - not by much mind you. Just enough that any mistakes can be corrected without throwing the whole piece out the window - a bad thing when working with deadlines.
Out of that second methodical process came about one of my very favorite speculative murals, Koi Galaxy, a watercolor mural, which the only print made, sold in December 2024, leaving me with only the original painting.
Reach out to me if you have questions about custom residential murals or designs l already have.
For something a little different, explore some portfolio pieces.
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Public Announcement: This blog post is part of a collection of 354+ posts from my original Wordpress blog "Dreaming Into Being." I've now retired and migrated it to “Wander & Paint,” my new blog post at the United Wanderlust art shop. As time allows, I will be reviewing, condensing, updating and releasing the best of the posts. This may take a long time but they will be available again little by little.
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