Greetings, faithful readers (all 6 of you)!

Been quite a while since I posted anything at all. The upside is that means I’ve been busy. Very busy. Busy is good. Keeps me active. Keeps me moving.

And this piece has certainly kept me moving. Creating this work was a physical experience. Every aspect pushed the boundaries of the spaces I have to work with: from building the canvas to crating and every bit in between. I enjoyed the process immensely.

The work came about by way of a phone call at the end of last Summer. It started its last leg yesterday when the freight truck came to pick up the 82″x64″x6″ crate. My clients had retired and moved to warmer climes, but they were missing some aspects of their place here in Iowa. Namely a large water feature from their yard that gave them a lot of enjoyment and peace in their leisure time. They wanted a piece of that for their new home. We chatted. We took photos. Discussed options and away we went. Several months and a lot of work later we’re nearly finished.

I’ve managed to document the process from beginning conceptual sketches to the end when it was packed into the crate and readied for shipping. I’ve skipped a lot of steps along the way to spare you the (sometimes) ugly details, but it was a wonderful project and I’m glad for the opportunity.

Looking forward to seeing it hung.

So anyway… here’s the pics.

Cheers,

R

First sketches. Testing layouts

First sketches. Testing layouts

First sketches. Testing layouts

First sketches. Testing layouts

First sketches. Testing layouts

Final rough composition

Color mockup in pastel

Color mockup in pastel

Color mockup in pastel… needed more blue

Color mockup: detail

Color mockup: detail

Color mockup: detail

Construction begins – hybrid aluminum/wood stretchers

So many staples…

Finished the stretch. Now for the black gesso

$60 in black gesso later…

Images transferred to the surface using white chalk

Putting down the first layers of paints

Underpainting and mid-ground finished. Time for the little brushes.

How I spent most of that day: hunched over sitting on a stool or the floor. Couldn’t raise the canvas any higher

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Finished! Had to bring it up to my living room to get a decent shot.

I think this really captures the scale. It was like having an extra wall

Shopping list and basic design for the crate

Crate’s largely finished. Using leftover panels to hold down some foam padding until the adhesives dry

Piece wrapped and mounted inside the crate

Lid’s screwed down tight. “Fragile” stickers applied… everywhere.

One more look at the crate before it goes byebye