Now I'm back from my second internship! This time I've worked with decorative painting at Kulturhuset in Skövde. And it has been so much fun!
Earlier this autumn, I contacted Skövde's cultural producer Jonna Ahlander and asked if they needed a practicing decor painter anywhere. It all ended up with me during my internship having free hands to do what ever I wanted on the walls in the room Kulturiet at Kulturhuset. It used to be Robert Gustafson's old "stage room" ( a Swedish, famous comedian) where he began his journey and to which he had his own key to go and rehearse performances when he was little. The room has looked the same for many years and it was now quite worn and previously painted in a little crazy colors like bright orange and green and they now wanted this room to get a new look. Do you understand what a dream project to go bananas in an entire room in that way? I've been in heaven!
This room is intended for smaller gigs or other types of events. It has a small kitchen / bar, a few pillars in the middle of the room and a small stage at the other end. And beautiful, large, black doors with brass details! When I was brainstorming ideas, I immediately thought of sound waves for some reason. I wanted to make a pattern like sound waves to follow every wall around the room. To symbolize the music that would be played there and meetings between people. I thought that the doors with brass details in the room were so beautiful so I wanted to highlight these by making the pattern in gold / brass. Then I wanted to paint smoke. A mysterious smoke... Just like it can be at gigs. So I tried to put these two elements together in some way. And here are some pictures from the process.
This is what it looked like before:
Through that door you enter.
Jonna shows me around. This is what the view looked like from the entrance.
The kitchen / bar counter.
Robert, a bit of renovation chaos and the scene behind it. Then it was time for me to start working! :)
The whole room was repainted with a light gray color. Then I started by painting the "smoke" that should follow the golden pattern around the room.
When I was going to draw the pattern. I photographed the wall with the painted smoke and then drew on that photo with my drawing tablet. I think it makes it a lot easier when you paint this big. To see that the lines flow and give a good balance before you really get started.
I cut together a small film about how I made one of the walls. First the cloud of smoke and then when I drew the golden pattern with posca pencils.
The pattern begins to take shape.
Then I took a break from the mural and focused on the kitchen for a while. There was old, black decorative plastic that was a little crooked and there were half / broken tiles in places. So I removed all the old decorative plastic and replaced these with brass as well. Then I glued a small mdf board and filled all the big holes that I then painted so they look like real tiles.
Behind the decorative plastic were light blue squares.
Tada!
Then I continued with the pattern at the entrance. I made this a little bigger and more detailed, as if the sound waves cross here and continue out at each end of the room.
Nu är alla väggar färdiga!
The Robert Gustafson sign on the counter will be removed later.
Since I study how to gild and marble, I thought I might take the opportunity to do that with the pillars so the room feels a little more luxurious.
Black marble in the making.
Making a looot of tiny white lines...
Gilded the bottom of the pillars with brass leaves which I then patinated.
Very ergonomic working position! I forgot to take pictures on the pillars when everything was ready but I will go back and make the final touches during the Christmas holidays. So you will get an update!
That's about as far as I've got in these weeks. But I'll be back during the Christmas holidays and fix the last things and put on a top coat on the pillars. They are painted with oil paint so it takes a while before it dries.
And! the best of all!! At the beginning of next year, when they have also finished renovating the outer wall of the room, they will throw a party at the new Kulturiet with some music and other goodies! Then I will be on site and talk a about who I am, how the thoughts went around the motif for the mural and the process behind it. You are all warmly welcome! More info about this this coming soon.
Thank you very much dear Jonna and everyone else at Kulthurhuset who I've gotten to know during these weeks. For the trust in this project and for that you have all taken such good care of me. It has been absolutely fantastic! <3
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