Sanofi Pasteur Commission, 2016
The request for proposals specified: "Because our honoree has contributed to Sanofi Pasteur on a local and global lever and because of his love of music and art we have chosen the following title "Working in Harmony," Theme: Featuring humanitarian, public health and musical images, visually representing both the globe and also the Pocono Mountains, given the impact of our honoree's efforts." The size specifies was 21 feet 6 inches wide by 60 inches in height. Coming up with a design incorporating all of the above was an interesting challenge!
My proposal was the one selected, the painting is currently in the entrance lobby to the main building in their corporate headquarters. My studio is tiny-so small a single bed couldn't fit in it, so it took some ingenuity and loads of help from my husband, who has serious cabinetmaking skills to make a twenty one and a half foot painting in my home. In order to literally get it out of my door, the painting was constructed in six sections from hardboard cradled with a wooden support structure that bolts together.
My proposal was the one selected, the painting is currently in the entrance lobby to the main building in their corporate headquarters. My studio is tiny-so small a single bed couldn't fit in it, so it took some ingenuity and loads of help from my husband, who has serious cabinetmaking skills to make a twenty one and a half foot painting in my home. In order to literally get it out of my door, the painting was constructed in six sections from hardboard cradled with a wooden support structure that bolts together.
The underpainting
In order to organize all the varied representational elements, I began with a compositional study using flat planes of color in the exact proportion of the painting, and included indications of where the panels joined.
In this photo, you can see the underpainting consisting of flat, abstract shapes, and at left, the images beginning to be imposed on the abstract underpainting.
Here you can see 4 of the 6 "cradles" that will back the hardboard panels. They had to be fitted to perfectly bolt together before the hardboard face could be fixed to the front of each panel.
Here you can see the hardboard panels getting fixed to the wooden cradles. There are hardboard triangles screwed into each corner, and the hardboard is clamped to the cradle while the glue dries.
Here I am working on the first three panels. It's a good thing the parlor has an open walkway into the next room, because when all 6 panels were in place, the painting spanned almost the width of our house.
Working on the painting once all 6 panels were in place on the custom giant easel my husband made for the project.