Every once in a while, I am asked to create something really special.
A couple of years ago, I received a phone call from a friend who had just lost a dear friend and father figure. She was to attend the wake in a couple of days and wanted to do something special for the family in lieu of ordering flowers to be delivered.
She wanted something personal. Something that truly represented the man that meant so much to her.
This is where I entered in. She had a vision… a vision of art that encompassed music, lyrics, and symbols. I was totally on board. I had less than 24 hours to complete it, and I had faith in the intuitive painting process to see me through.
I documented the various stages to show the painting’s progression.
Step 1: Glue music sheets & lyrics to the canvas
Step 2: Create custom stencil & mask. I found & printed out these images, then traced them onto a transparency sheet.
Step 3: Add blue & pink paint!! I used a palette knife to spread it around.
Step 4: Add black & white paint, mixing the 2 on the canvas while wet to create some gray. I used the palette knife here as well.
Step 5: Add vaseline onto the pieces of paper that I did NOT want to get covered with paint. I did this with each layer, though not always covering the whole paper each time.
Step 6: Drips!! My favorite. I used Golden High Flow Acrylics in pink, blue & purple.
Step 7: Add more white & black to start pushing back the bright colors.
Step 8: Add images using the custom stencil & mask. The prince sign was used as a stencil and added in silver & black paint. The infinity symbol was a mask, where the areas around it were covered in black & white paint.
Step 9: Splatters!
Step 10: Call it done.
The result: “The family LOVED it- it was so perfect and subtle… But meaningful. It is so special to me that they felt that way. Thank YOU for taking the time to allow me to give them a one-of-a-kind of a gift. It was so special to me to give the family a gift they will always have. Thank you for making that desire come to life.”
All I can say is, it was my pleasure :).
Lulu Bea