September 20, 2009

Mural Preparations

With a little help, I finished the 2nd prep coat on the mural today and need to get serious about the image. I plan to start painting it tomorrow.

I've been taking photos of flowers I want to have as reference, but the direction of sun and shadow is different on each one and I may be creating more problems than I'm solving by having something to look at. The wall owners are Jane Austen fans and I've been researching Chawton Cottage and her writings about gardens to get some inspiration for the scene. Here too, though, I've got to deal with seasons -- Jane Austen loved lilacs, but the early spring bloom is not what I'm envisioning in what I think will be scene of a cottage garden in summer.

Interestingly, the wall itself (it faces east) and the owner's north-facing yard are both very shady -- so I do think the wall will provide the chance to imagine a sun garden in a spot where one couldn't exist.

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