Drawing & Painting

Making the Aire backdrop

First I sewed two sheets together to get the desired size for the backdrop. Next I needed to give the fabric (sheets) a base coat of white so that when I painted in my scene, colors wouldn't just be absorbed into the cloth leaving them dull and lifeless. Next I layed out the white -painted sheet on my brother and sister-in-law's yard. I needed to see the sheet in it's entirety in order to sketch out the design. The sun is intense! Spring is rapidly becoming summer.

Sketching my design onto the sheet with colored pencil. Working so large presents the problem of spacing and placement of matter.

Once fully sketched onto the sheet, I could take it up into my room partially folded (due to space restrictions) and begin painting.
When drawing or painting on smaller areas, I usually work from top to bottom. However, because this painting is so large and space is a consideration, I am painting from left to right instead. In the two pictures above, I'm painting theater curtains!