Patience. This project has been a test in patience. There is simply no rushing the process. I find my mind wandered as I painted this week, thinking about all the ways that I could have improved the process in order to be further along. Aside from one thing I'd do differently, there is no fast-track for this design. Oh, there's lessons to learn in every nook and cranny of our lives!
There was a tremendous sense of relief yesterday as I finished the base coat for the bottom half design. No more grey - no more empty spaces. (I may have even broke out into the "Hallelujah Chorus".) This week, due to a particularly noisy fan in the Snye room, I moved into the hallway. It was nice to have an occasional passerby to connect with and I certainly appreciated the encouraging, inquisitive remarks. Earlier in the week I had a parade of tutu-ed mini ballerinas peeking into the room to see what I was up to. I was thankful for the adorable visitors. The whole project is really quite remarkable and we are all so eager to see the installation in place. Our curious minds will have to wait to see how it all comes together in the great outdoors! Next week: a palette of green! I think I've lost count. Foxy Loxy and I have spent many hours together now. Today I finished painting the outline of the bottom half, nearly standing on my head (and putting Foxy on his) in order to get every nook and cranny accounted for. As I mentioned in the beginning, one of the biggest challenges has been taking a 2D design and transferring that to a 3-dimensional object. But challenged accepted and challenge complete! Now that the last section has been painted on, it's time for a white base-coat layer to clearly mark out the criss-crossing cattails. He's coming together!
The process for the bottom half is completely different than the line taping madness of the top. Using an acrylic paint marker, I am drawing the details free-hand. The hard lines of the top are contrasted with the curves I'm creating now - but they are both endlessly weaving in and out.
There is a bit of fearlessness that I've had to tap into for this project, as my two dimensional design has been adapted to the nooks and crannies of my 3D reality. From the very beginning I realized that I wouldn't be able to sketch the entire design onto the fox. Rather, I'd have to trust the process and trust myself to make the creative decisions along the way. It was quite daunting to begin drawing over all the stage one painting - what if I slipped? What if I made a poor choice of lines? I had to choose to be fearless and go for it. My favourite experiences and works as an artist come from that choice. It's always good to let go. I took a break from Foxy Loxy over the holidays. Today, I finally finished stage one. I just might be able to put away the tape! With two more stages to go (the bottom half and then touch-ups) I am excited to begin drawing out the bottom details next week and start with a new array of colours. A palette cleanse is in order! The next challenge will be navigating through the smaller surface area of his legs, tail and belly. I'm going to have to figure out a way to secure him upside down in order to paint with precision... I will MacGyver something - stay tuned!
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