Thursday, July 15, 2010

Opera Mural #3 Carmen



I have started the third of my Opera Murals for my wonderful clients on Capitol Hill. This one is based on the opera Carmen, and will be about six feet wide by eleven feet tall. Like the others it will disguise a secret elevator door. There will be a tiny doorknob which when pulled will open the mural to reveal-an elevator! The bottom image is the drawing on canvas of the lower part of the mural. It is charcoal, on fire retardant muslin that has been primed with tinted gesso. The main figures of Carmen and Don Jose will end up just about at the viewer's eye level when the mural is installed. In the foreground are the women from the cigarette factory as well as little street urchins and some matadors in fancy hats. In the middle ground is Don Jose's rival on a white horse. (I can't wait to paint that!) and in the distance is the bull fighting arena with a bullfight going on. The image on the top is the upper part of the mural, also drawn in charcoal on canvas. This is the balcony above the arena. It is populated by soldiers and ladies in hats holding fans. I am about to start with the color, so please check back to see the progress.

3 comments:

Georgia said...

Beautiful figures, Katie. Would you mind leaving these as they are and creating additional panels to complete in color?? The hats add a lot-

Eva-Maria Ruhl said...

I love the idea of disguising an elevator with painted panels. The layout looks great and I can't wait to see the finished work of art.
Eva

IrvingDan said...

Nice mural. I have a question for you concerning painting on fire retardant muslin. I am thinking of using it for an upcoming mural project, but I read in forums that people complain about a halo-ing around the brushstrokes from the sodium/salt in the fireproofing liquid? Did you find this noticeable or difficult to work with? Any advice or info would be great. thanks in advance.