Each year I return to San Rafael, CA for their exceptional Italian Street Painting Festival. This year, the theme was 'The Wonders of Space and Time.' I was certain you'd see a lot of astronauts / planets / stars / clocks / clouds / rockets and spacecraft... so I spent a lot of time (ha, pun!) coming up with something unique.
Luna, in Roman Mythology, is the divine embodiment of the Moon and is the female compliment to the Sun.
On the clipboard is my 'rough' concept sketch for the mural. After creating a grid on the pavement I draw out my design.
The Moon, and the Sun, were my first connection to the concept of space and time. The festival theme reminded me of being a child and staring up at the Moon and the stars in the night sky wondering about life and my place within it. I spent MANY nights sleeping under the Moon!
I've always felt a connection to the Moon, have had dreams about it and even named my business Three Moons Studio.
In my imagination Luna is the Goddess who leads the Moon in its orbit around the Earth.
I almost always begin with the face. It establishes the palette/values for the rest of the mural and it is the most engaging element for anyone visiting the festival.
Getting close to finishing! Here I am working on the last bit of hair before final touchups.
I had a pretty nice view too! Love see the Mission San Rafael while I work!
One of the talented festival photographers gave me a great overhead shot of my almost-nearly completed mural. Photo : Terry Scussel