Step into being surrounded by an Artists Illusion
John, from Benton Harbor, had read an article in his newspaper about two couples who traveled a long distance to get airbrushed murals on their motor homes. "I want some long wispy horse tail clouds painted on my ceiling," he told me on the phone. I began to understand his long term goal, a room that celebrated ancient Turkey, dolphins, and life. "I will be happy to meet with you and find out how I can best serve you," I responded.
In order to create the best possible mural for John's home, I needed to understand John and what made him tick. During an evening of discussion, I learned that his hobbies were Ancient History; Archaeology; and hand-made wooden boats, made from scratch from a Catalpa tree, the same way it had been done for centuries. Annual trips to Turkey, and frequent visits to Archeological digs, satisfy most of his yearnings.
Once I understand a customer's background, hobbies, and personal information, I am ready to begin the creative process. I select a few possibilities that I think might be appropriate for the masterpiece that we will create together. I also like to bounce around spontaneous ideas that occur during discussion. I then observe the customer's reactions, both pro and con, and fine-tune my initial recommendations.
I presented my initial concept to John, and we decided to wait until summer, which would give him time to consider a few more ideas. He wanted time to search his reference archives, from his days, both past and present, as a gifted photographer. These photographs would contribute to an even more personal masterpiece.
When I returned, I spent the first few days becoming familiar with his subject, looking through historical books, learning about artifacts, architectural styles, and appropriate decor. I studied photos of Turkish harbor towns and carved stone columns. At this stage, working with my customers, I create many pencil sketches, which allow me to plan the entire room, making an existing doorway part of a temple, for example. Finally, an image that pleased us both began to emerge, which used perspective to create a spacious believable illusion. I knew that I needed to use creative license to make all the features believable.
Finally, with John's approval, I refined all of our ideas and made scale drawings of the entire room, with the location of each window and door noted exactly. This was to give us a clear idea of what to expect. To make a long story short, I turned his main wall into the Temple façade, using techniques that allowed me to create the look of marble. The Trompe L'oeil illusion is very striking. I created rooftops and orchards, with sailboats and a rugged coastline on two other walls. I added Roman aqueducts with their precise regularity and rhythm. All of this was under the sky with "some long wispy horse tail clouds," which was his original desire.
I used the best quality materials throughout, and was careful to use what I call "user friendly" paint inside his home, with a combination of hand brushing for clean, crisp, lines; and airbrushing for a soft blend of color and soft edges. Artists' Acrylics provided an archival quality necessary to stand the test of time. I created an "imitation marble" with added veins and crevices to create the effect of a marble gable on the main temple. Because my host was fascinated with this treatment, he changed our plans for the doorways. I painted them to appear like genuine Rosso Verona and Serpentine marble.
The most spectacular and most tedious features of the entire painting are the temple columns, gently tapered with flutes and fillets, which show an influence of Greek Corinthian artisans. The capital has a central core that resembles an inverted bell, surrounded by carvings of acanthus leaves. The elaborate scrollwork was intense and required several days to complete. To get the illusion of a many-faceted cylindrical shape, I alternated between airbrushing and hand brushing slight variations of color. I designed it so that the doorway into the rest of the house appeared between two columns inside the temple. I painted some inlaid marble work between two other columns with a Trompe L'oeil effect which gave the temple a most startling dimension. I created the effect of a shadow coming from the roof's edge with masking paper and a dark color spray, then used the same process to create the illusion of sunlight.
From start to finish, an entire month had gone by. The experience planted a seed within me. My passion for challenging projects takes on a new direction. My artistic background has been in high quality airbrushed paintwork seen on luxury motor homes and converted busses. But this opportunity to create a room with an illusion of my patron's desire has been most satisfying.
A follow up note that I received from John several weeks after completion sums it all up: " I want to thank you for your dedication to seeing this project through. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. Everyone who has seen it is awestruck. The outcome is something we both should be proud of." Now, I am ready to find even greater challenges.
About the Artist
Drawing and painting since he was a child, the delicate touch and remarkable eye for detail are combined with a true affinity for all God's creatures. Dave Knoderer has over twenty-five years experience creating distinctive painted masterpieces that accurately reflects each patron's unique personality and interests. With a reputation that grows with each passing year, Dave, also known as Letterfly, a self-described free spirit, finds inner peace and oneness with horses. Equine artwork and pet portraiture is admittedly his first love. He is a member of the American Academy of Equine Artists, the Society of Gilders and the American Saddlebred Horse Association. This award-winning artist enjoys travel. Letterfly is in Florida half the year and in Michigan every summer. Many customers invite the artist to their home or business to accomplish his masterpieces on site. True expression, captured masterfully with adept brushwork, is all part of the Letterfly experience. Call to arrange for
your personally created paintwork or for samples of his work.
