A large wallpainting

This wallpainting covers the whole wall, the side walls both have windows.

The brief was to use colours matching the ones used in the open kitchen, some flowers, preferably ones used elsewhere in the open plan house. Somewhere the owners horse should be depicted as a memorial, for it died the year before.

The sketch. I made several, as there were many details the wallpainting had to adhere to. When you do a wallpainting you have to keep into account many things; the taste of the owners, the fact that they will be stuck with the wallpainting for many years, the place it is painted, and in this case the furniture which the owners allready had, and which would be in front of the wallpainting, and they wanted the painting to accomodate them.

The set up, for depth I used several layers on top of each other. The wall was beautifully rendered, and very smooth. Very nice to paint on, allowing for more detail, and a painterly approach.

Not quite finished yet, but with the furniture to give an impression.

The last finish! The horse, galopping into the sunset.

I had met the horse a few times, and even ridden him! I also had quite a lot of photos. Even though this is a very simplified painting, I like to know exately what I am painting, even if I don’t use that knowlege, I think an intimate knowlege of your subject still shows in the most simplified depiction.

The comission is finished, the patrrons are happy, and the artist is very happy!

The  wallpainting:

I charge about €250,- per square meter for a wallpainting. That includes the design and the paints and brushes. (You can say goodbye to your brushes pretty fast when you use them on a wall) But I do expect the wall to be rendered and prepared with the paint of my choice.

I learned this the hard way: I once showed up for doing a wallpainting which was a rush-job because it was in a shop to be opened soon, and I found the whole wall in the rough stage. It was the weekend. So I had to prepare it myself, not only did that scoop two days of my deadline, I also had to work deep into the night, every night, to get it finished. I did finish before the opening, but I was absolutely exhausted. And it took me three days to recuperate.

I also found out that it is a lot cheaper getting an artist to do the work than hiring workmen.

I fall into a trap once, but never twice.