Dia Uno

Monday night, Guillaume, George and I got to the wall and projected the outline of the tree..

It was a little chilli..

but I took us a lot less than we expected ;)

to be continued..

patching up a broken heart

SO, unfortunately this evil man got his way and we had to cover the wall in gray! Im sure the community is not very happy about this either, but that's politics..

I recently came back from an exhibit in Toronto as the Burroughes Gallery (which is up until the end of month - see detail below), and I started the next mural!






I titled it Diversitree as it remains along the theme of diversity and its a tree!
It is on the corner of Cavendish and Somerled, if you wish to pay us a visit (Im working along side my good friend George again on this one, and Guillaume helped me kick it off)

the sketch has changed from this version but i'll let it be a surprise..

Day Four

At 9am today I was blessed with another helpster, George Blott, my old colleague from college. We've painted (and continue to) many murals, and have even lived together so we know each other very well. George is one of my top 10 friends on Facebook. Actually I dont have that feature, but if I did, he would be up there.

thats me!

the fade in the sky has been quite a challenge being so large..I have ordered a gallon of purple to finish the gamma

unfortunately, at 6pm a man passed by to ask us to stop working as the Mayor received a call about he mural not being totally approved..we had a meeting that night where many people showed up to hear about the mural and artist, including local citizens, Mayor Tremblays brother and representatives from arrondisement Cote-des-Naiges, prevention NDG and Des Jardin. We explained out goal and everyone was very enthusiastic and supportive of out mission, but there was one rude man (a city official of the area) who spoiled it for everyone and now the project is on pause until Monday where a meeting will be had about this.

Crossing my fingers,
:peru

Day Three

Took Saturday off to setup for a show at Cegep de Vieux Montreal for the LaParia Art Collective - http://laparia.ca/blog/?page_id=30





Back to work, finished the primer and bought some paint to finish the sketching..





Guillaume helped in painting green triangles, also known as "trees" - he painted 101 to be exact.




At one point I was on my knees using some leftover paint, and later on realized i was pressing shards of glass into my bloodstream... it was that hot

..and i couldnt reach some parts of my back i guess

Day Two

Got a ride with Guillaume again in the MU-Truck, and Scott met up with us to lend a humble hand.

I started sketching with some left over paint but that didnt last so i primed triple-time with them..




Cops passed by to do their job..

10 hours later we ran out of 15 gallons of primer and decide that's enough for today. Notice the little rectangle at the end that haunted us in our dreams..

Day One

Off to a good start, along with Guillaume we started priming the wall perhaps too meticulously and got 4 of the smaller section done (out of 10)..4000 square ft total

we're gonna need a little help..

the sketch

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE - AND SCROLL TO THE RIGHT

Under the theme "Celebrating Diversity" I created this simple but concise narrative of the neighborhoods multicultural coexistence the mural is being produced in. To get my inspiration I visited Victoria road and walked all the way through, going in and out of businesses speaking with as many people as possible from all walks of life to ask them what they would like to see painted on the wall. I noticed most of the people that inhabit the area are from warm climates, like the Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and other Caribbean nations as well as and Pakistan, India, Philippines, etc. They all treated me with the same warmth they grew up in and would treat a relative with. They voiced their interest in seeing themes like the youth, social justice and local pride yet unity as a main message.

I went around taking photographs which I used directly in the design, from the diversity of fruit to the children’s playground. By using shapes as recurring elements in the design, I conveyed the concept of unity in all races, such us circles to express the circle of life and planet Earth as the home we all inhabit, as well as triangles to express the mind, body and soul we all posses, and the trinity of family and responsibilities we all have to them. It is through everyday responsibilities we have to each other, and to ourselves such as doing our laundry, or simple acts like we all enjoy such as sports and eating, that we find common ground and which can bring us together as one people.

The sketch has not been modified to the what final version will be but you get the picture...instead of having country flags hanging in the clothing line, i will be using ethnic clothes from the different countries the area represent such as a Saree, Baron, Kimono, Ethiopian cloth, Japanese silk, Dashiki, a soccer jersey and a plain t-shirt with an image of out planet to not forget where we all come from.