The wall above the "Throne"

This wall takes up space directly above the "throne" in the bathroom. This wall was very difficult to paint as there wasn't enough room for my ladder on either side of the toilet. I ended up standing on the "throne" to paint the walls. I'm short, so reaching all the way to the ceiling was a bit of a stretch.

Very sad day...

Over the weekend, our cherished 10 year old dog Nikkie passed away very suddenly. Her departure from our lives has been even more devistating than I had anticipated it ever would be. The house seems so empty and sad without her loving and entertaining energy. I have some work to do, but I just don't want to start on any of it.

Play list for the Castle Mural

For some reason, I've always enjoyed reading about the play lists professional athletes listen to while training. I always take my Ipod along on a job, and each mural ends up having it's own unique play list.

"Sir Dillons's Castle" play list.....
Diana Krull....the entire "From This Moment On" CD
Sheryl Crow..."Lifetimes"
Lyle Lovett ..."If I had a Boat"......I love this song!
Talking Heads...."City of Dreams"
Counting Crows...."Rain King"
Sheryl Crow..."Shine Over Babylon"
David Arkenstone.....lots of tunes..especially from his Celtic Book of Days CD. I listen to his music most of the time when I need to concentrate on detail work.

Wall opposite the hatching dragon.

This wall is directly opposite of the hatching dragon wall, to the left of the sink. The same process was used as noted in my previous post. 1. sketch in the design. 2. wash in a background color 3. finish the stone work. 4. complete the focal art.

This wall was also difficult to paint because of its location. I had to bend over the sink for hours to complete the stone work and the torch. There really wasn't enough counter space to kneel or stand on the counter top.

I was really jazzed about the feeling of space the mural was creating. The stone work reflected in the mirror really added visual dimension to an otherwise small bathroom.

East Wall Step by Step

This wall is to the right of the sink and is reflected in the mirror. It's also one of the main walls you view if sitting upon the "throne" in the "castle", so I wanted it to have an interesting focal point.

In the first step, I sketched the design lightly in pencil, then went over my drawing with watery burnt sienna paint. The sketch phase required me to work out the stone block size and placement, which...I must admit...isn't my favorite task. I also worked out the spacing for the beams that were to be painted across the ceiling. The entire room was sketched in at the same time.

In the next phase of the painting process, I finished all of the stone work in the room. This required about 6 layers of paint. realistic looking stone work is very time consuming, but it's worth the effort. I used Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna washes. The Celtic cross "carving" and the other designs were completed at this time.

After all of the stone work and the ceiling were completed, I worked on finishing the detailed art.. (this is always my favorite part of the painting process...bringing out the detail).The first area I worked to completion was the dragon hatching out of the egg. It was a bit difficult to paint this area because I had to bend over the sink, and I didn't have a direct, head on view of what I was painting. I was pleased with the way the little guy turned out.

Castle mural

I'm starting on a new project. A small bathroom will be transformed into the interior of a castle, complete with dragons and celtic carvings. This is going to be a fun mural to paint. Here are the "Before" pictures.