23rd Psalm Stained Glass Murals

I am so pleased with how these came out! The painting part is done- all that remains to do is a coat of sealer to even out the sheen on the paints and protect the work, so these photos still have tape at the top and bottom edges- sorry. This was a really fun and challenging project- large scale murals in a basement without windows, painted on concrete block.
My aim was to bring a sense of light, the outdoors and of course a religious theme to the room, since it is in a church and is used for worship every week (a coffeehouse style contemporary service) among other purposes. The committee wanted something a bit colorful, not too churchy and traditional (stiff), but not too out there either.
The stained glass effect allowed me a greater level of creativity, and the use of some pretty intense colors, layered in glazes to really give the 'panes' a translucent look to them. It was just magical as I painted in the outlines and leading in the three panels- the work just came to life! I hope you agree that this turned out just wonderful!

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,bringing honor to his name.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 (New Living Translation)

23rd Psalm in progress

my palette

Although I only got to work on these murals two days this week, I am really happy with the progress so far. Because of their size, at 10 feet by 10 feet, it takes quite a while to layer on each color, rubbing and layering the glazes into the concrete block wall. Tough on the brushes, tough on the arms, tough on the legs, climbing, crawling and crouching for several hours each day- back and forth across the wall.

Thursday's work in progress photos above- almost there.

How I left the work yesterday- only the dividers between the glass remain to be added in next week, maybe a bit of tweeking here and there, tape removal, and top coat to seal the work.
As always your comments are welcome.

23rd Psalm midpoint

Things were just starting to shape up last Friday when I had to pack away my tools, brushes and paints until this Thursday, when I can at last get back to work on my latest mural. I didn't want to leave you hanging so below is how it looks currently:


It's starting to look a bit like stained glass. I like to describe it as the glass at night with no light coming through- now all I have to paint is the sunlight streaming through the colored glass.
The last thing to be painted will be the dividers between the glass, but there will be lots of layers and steps before that point.
I'm already getting lots of very nice comments from the congregation on the progress so far, including how much more pleasant the early morning service held in the room felt yesterday.
I can't wait to get back to it an finish! I think the hardest part of this project has been to be so inspired by the work for so long, wanting to get started on it, and not being able to work on it in my own time frame. Eventually it will be completed though, and I'll be looking forward to the next inspiring work!

New Facebook Page

I'm completely overhauling my professional Facebook page- it was too confusing to have my main identity and my business page have the same name (I am blonde after all). My apologies- but if you had already fanned me, you probably are gonna hafta do it again. I hope this clears up a few issues people have been having, and helps me to keep a better eye on which page has what on it and why.

23rd Psalm Mural

Finally! I got to start on this mural project this past Monday! I've been looking forward to it for quite a while- since late May actually, and hope to have it finished before Thanksgiving if all goes well. I've got 5 days to work on it this week, two next week and 3 before Thanksgiving, and I'm making good progress. Above is my sample art merged together to show the three panels to be painted. Each panel is about 10 feet by 10 feet, with about 6 feet in between them. Painted on a concrete block wall, when completed they will bring a feeling of outdoors and light to a windowless church basement Fellowship Hall.


One of the panels, primed and sketched in, ready for color


After day two, some color blocked in- sky and mountains in the background.


Day 3- trees and greens blocked in


Day 4 all base colors blocked in.

So far the response from the staff and few people who have wandered through this week has been positive. A meeting was held in the room last evening, and it sounds like the Church Elders like it so far- '...it already seems to expand the space and makes the wall appear larger.' has been the general opinion.
Tomorrow starts some shading and layering of glazes to simulate the stained glass effect I am going for. Then I'll have to pack my paints and tools away until next Thursday before I can get back in there to work again. That'll be tough- I really like to keep at a project until it is completed.
Any comments?

Van Gogh on You Tube

Cool collecton of vidios if you like Vincent Van Gogh as much as I do:

Hope you enjoy!

Meadow Morning in Colorado

I am really happy with how this turned out! I have had some great comments on it so far- much appreciated! This particular painting is not for sale, but since I have so many great memories of scenes in Colorado and reference photos to work from, I'll be painting all of the beautiful scenes floating around in my imagination, and those paintings will be available for sale when completed.
I hope you have enjoyed the past few posts showing the painting process and the progress of this particular painting, let me know if you enjoyed it, and I'll do it again with another painting.
I enjoyed the process too- it allows me to go back and see just what each day's work looked like, and see how the work developed along the way.
As always, comments are welcome!