Each member of our group was free to paint a mural piece in the plywood wall of a local construction site. Impudent vandalism! (With the city's permission of course.) I didn't have any crystal clear image in my head, just a quick pencil sketch, so I just painted and watched where the picture went from there. I think it came up with a little sprinkle of Mononoke Hime, werewolves, an androgynous deity and a kitschy feeling of some social soviet art. And I admit, a little bit of Jon Snow's Ghost too. And also because I adore White Shepherd dogs.
It was challenging to use latex house paints as a medium and even more challenging to get the proportions even somehow right, but it felt so good to paint after a long pause! Painting with huge strokes without focusing too much on the details felt like art therapy, just splashing the paint on the wall and letting the brushes guide the way.
The special bonus in making public art is when you get nice or perplexing comments from the people that pass by. I guess the best comment about this piece was from a fragile-looking granny, who thought I was painting horses. I was aiming to portray wolves, but oh well, art is free for all interpretations!
I wish I could do more huge works like this, this was my second wall piece and I'm aching for more practice. If you ever get the chance to try mural painting or spraying a graffiti (hopefully legally), I really recommend trying it!
Wau tosi hieno tuli!
ReplyDeleteKiitoksia! ^^
DeleteWOW! The painting is just amazing! Love it.
ReplyDeleteOh my, thanks so much! ^^
DeleteMahtava!
ReplyDeleteVoi kiitos!
DeleteThat looks amazing :O
ReplyDeleteI think that you got the proportions just right. At least to my eye this piece looks great. I like the sort of wintery Cerberos -look of the painting :)
Thank you! I was actually thinking about a wolf-like Cerberos while painting this! Some of the proportions are a little wrong but who cares. :D It was fun to do this and that's what matters!
DeleteOh wow! This is stunning! I just fell in love!
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you so much for your sweet words!
DeleteSeeing your "horses", Ghost and Ôkami as well were the first things that came into my mind. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd be curious how the whole wall will look like when it's finished.
It wasn't finished yet by the time I finished my piece, so I'm also curious to see how the wall looks like now! None of the pieces are really connected and they are very different since each is painted by a different person, it looks like an outdoor gallery. :)
Delete(Btw, I love how the word ōkami has the word kami inside it!)
(Yes, I've always had some kind of love-hate relationship with those phonetic synonyms. Meaningful and poetic on the one hand, but sometimes, while learning kanji, a tough nut to crack.)
DeleteSuloinen on maalaus.. Ja mahtava on tuo otsikon kirjakin :D
ReplyDeleteKiitoksia! Kirja on kyllä huima, "When the wolves come out of the walls, IT'S ALL OVER!" :D
DeleteThis is awesome, really well done and the proportions are perfect.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog and I always get excited when you make another!
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words! I was aiming for simplicity with this painting to get it done fast, but I think it looks ok. ^^
DeleteTosi hieno maalaus! Tykkäsin erityisesti tuosta miekkosesta. Ainoa mikä vähän häiritsi oli se, missä tuon etualalla olevan suden toinen takajalka on... Mutta ehkä nämä ovat niitä taiteellisia vapauksia ;)
ReplyDeleteVoi kiitos paljon! Mä tiedän että se häiritsee monia kun jotkut tuli siitä sanomaan maalaushetkilläkin, mut aattelin tosissaan ottaa "vähän" niitä taiteellisia vapauksia. :D Realismiin en pyrkinyt missään vaiheessa. Oma puolisokin muuten kysyi että mihin tuo jalka katosi, mietin ite että se vaan häviää jonnekin universumipilveen missä tuo miekkosenkin vartalo näemmä on, hihi.
DeleteIhan mahtava. Henkilön kasvot varsinkin on aivan upeat.
ReplyDeleteVähän vaan häiritsee se, kuinka ainakin tuon miehen ja parin suden vartalot on kadonneet jonnekin.
Ihana kuulla, kiitoksia!
DeleteJuu, tiedän kyllä että se häiritsee varmasti monia ja musta se on aika hauskaa! Ehkä se on ihan hyväkin juttu, ihmiset voi miettiä taustoja noin oudolle valinnalle. :) Tarkoituksena oli tosiaan kolmipäisen oloinen susi jonka anatomialle en hakenut realismia ja lopulta päätin sen noin hassusti. En ole ihan varma miksi, ehkä siinä puski vähän väsymyskin pintaan mutta halusin tosiaan jättää sen niin että osa katoaa jonnekin seinän sisään tai mihinlie universumipilveen. :D Olisi tuon toki paremminkin voinut tehdä!
Well, as a wall paiting it must look incredibly awesome! I think I wouldn't even mind if such paiting was on one of the walls in my room. I have a plan for my wall paiting which will be done next to my bed and I just can't wait to do this, especially now when I saw your pictures <3.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you Elyenor! I hope your painting will turn out wonderfully. :)
DeleteTodella upea! Nuo sudet <3 Pääsisipä itsekin joskus tekemään suuren seinätaideteoksen :)
ReplyDeleteKiitos paljon! Oma suosikki susista oli tuo etualalla oleva hömelön oloinen otus joka vähän kuin poseeraa kameralle. :>
DeleteToivottavasti pääset joskus maalaamaan seinäpintaa, on ihan hurjan kiva kokemus! Luonnoksen siirto seinään voi luoda pientä alkuvaikeutta ja varsinkin ulkona sääolosuhteet voi hermostuttaa jos tuulee ja sataa koko ajan, mutta muuten todella kivaa ja kokemisen arvoista puuhaa!
Wau *-* Lahjota taitojas mullekkin!;)
ReplyDeleteKiitos! ^^ Maalausta oppii kyllä kun vaan tekee!
DeleteThat's amazing! And you just made that up, just like that? You're so talented :)
ReplyDeleteI think it only makes the picture more interesting when it's not too realistic, it challenges one's own imagination.
Thank you so much Cherise! :)
DeleteI really love access your blog and find new posts! The painting is awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd...I found a profile called "Valentina Mothmouth" in Facebook but I don't think it's yours. Is that right? Just to let you know. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/valentina.mothmouth.3
Thanks so much Carla! <3 She most definitely is not me, just another one of those who steal identities and create fake profiles. Sad thing is that Facebook doesn't really close those accounts and the people who are behind those accounts extremely rarely response to my messages. :/
DeleteIt's very disagreeable. :/
DeleteAnd...the clothes in the painting, like a sky covered with stars, it's very beautiful.
It reminds me of Salvatore's Drizzt character. Wonderful painting. Congats on the blog by the way. I follow your posts from times to times. I love it!
ReplyDeleteNice to hear that, thank you! I actually used to be a little obsessed with Drizzt when I was a young girl, hehe. I nearly always drew drows, especially Drizzt and Zaknafein. I still enjoy the Dark Elf Trilogy since I read it so many times back in those days, so those books still have a place in my bookshelf. :)
DeleteI absolutely adore it and I love the Game of Thrones inspiration you've thrown into it! One of my favourite parts has to be her dress though!!! Amazing! ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! ^^
DeleteVoi että! Ihanan upea maalaus, olet niin taitava :) Varmasti teki hyvää pitkän maalaustauon jälkeen, se on tosissaan kuin terapiaa <3 muistelin että Game of Thronesin soundtrackilla olisi samanniminen kappale kuin otsikko, mutta se olikin Small pack of wolves. :D Voi kumpa pääsisi itsekin maalailemaan noin isoa taideteosta!
ReplyDeleteVoi kiitos hurjasti! <3 Teki todellakin hyvää, joskus tulee pitkiäkin taukoja mutta niistä on turha ottaa stressiä, lepokin kehittää. Kannattaa katsastella paikallisten taideyhdistysten toimintaa, meidän Harhan kautta olen itsekin päässyt jo kahdesti maalaamaan seinäpintaa. :)
DeleteIt is amazingly beautiful. I love how you used the background plywood as skin colour on the man.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much! I think it looked neat to just scrub some highlights on the skin and leave the rest untouched. :) Nice to hear others like it too!
DeleteIt's so beautifull, well done!
ReplyDeleteMistä tuo mekko on (vai onko se hame ja paita)? Kaikessa yksinkertaisuudessaan ihana asu!
ReplyDeleteKiitoksia! Ihan vaan hame ja paita, alla on vielä toppi. Vähän nuhjaantunutta perustrikoota mutta käy ihan hirveän hyvin taidejuttuihin kun tahraantumisen pelkoa ei ole. :>
DeleteNäin tuon seinässä, tosi hieno! <3
ReplyDelete