The Last Mural of 2016

Here we are! The final week of 2016 and I was able to finish the female turkeys, Faith and Grace. Altogether, they only took 8 hours to complete. I’m definitely becoming faster with the paints.

Before we get into the turkey girls, I would just like to let everyone know that I have nothing really going on for January. I expect to pick up a commission in February and I have some personal work to do in the meantime but please feel free to approach me about commissions! A 9x12 sketch portrait is $40-$50 and takes 4-5 hours for me to complete. A 7’x7’ wall mural scene is estimated at around $450-$600 and takes between 30-40 hours to complete. I can also do wall panels at any size or subject, or just single subjects painted upon a wall and those things range between $100-$400. The turkey girls taking such a short amount of time are about $120 value, whereas the male turkey, having taken almost 40 hours and a much more complex subject, is valued at $600.

All wall panels no matter the size or material that you choose will be provided for free.

9”x12” pencil sketch: $40-$50

7’x7’ entire wall scene: $450-$600

Single subjects: $100-$400*

*These price estimates depend on the complexity of the subject matter. I usually keep things very realistic but even an 11”x14” panel of a super detailed subject is going to take more time and effort and cost a bit more.

✰ Alright, now that’s out of the way, on to the turkeys!

While working on these ladies, I did experience a small bit of difficulty transferring my newfound skills to the smaller board. It’s such a small area that very often, the paint was still too wet to apply a new color after mixing. I can now see why I used to do it the other way, mixing it directly on the wall. Very often, I would mix and paint for 15-20 minutes, applying one layer of color and then immediately have to take a break, since the colors were too wet to apply the next color. I adjusted to it fairly well, my siblings showing me how to play GTA in between painting, trading off turns every time the character died or got arrested and I’d rush back to the easel to apply the next layer before the next turn, lol.

I experienced a brief dissatisfaction with this piece and how “messy” it felt but like always, I pushed through it to completion. Also the legs of Faith were a little too thick at one point and needed to be adjusted with a reapplication of the red background color. Then when I went to paint Grace’s legs, the picture I was using had the light source coming from a different direction, so, I had to go ahead and change Faith’s legs to mirror them. I took lots of pictures during the process and I think they look really cool all lined up together and moving from one to the next.

I added some leaves and a branch in the upper right hand corner because the space was extremely uneven. This will be on the opposite door of the male turkey, Joseph, and the girls already look less colorful by comparison. In addition to that, Joseph fills the entire middle of the panel and looks very uniform, almost circular, whereas the girls look like they’re squished all on the one side of the panel. This was also brought up by the man who commissioned me, Dan, so, to balance the piece, I put something you’d expect to see in the upper right hand corner.

So, that’s that for 2016! I take a break during the summer months from May(1^st) until September(25^th) so, I’d like to keep myself painting constantly during the winter and spring. Please, feel free to contact me and approach me! I work very quickly so I’m not really going to set up scheduling where I’m tied up or unable to work on something at a particular time. If you have a deadline, let me know well ahead of time. Otherwise, if I don’t finish something by May 1^st, I’ll just pick it back up in September.