Thank You

Here a some pictures of the people who helped apply gold leaf to the mural. With a tight deadline and almost 400 square feet of painting I couldn't have done it without them. This is Isobel and Will. Isobel is drawing with a bottle of glue. Will is applying the glue with a sponge. Later they will stick gold leaf to the area. It seems it was a good idea to have children all those years ago. (Isobel is my daughter)

My mum. 

Ericka who amazingly lent us her house to work in since my studio was too tiny. Can you believe how sweet that is?

Kenna from Starbucks who art directed this whole project.

My mum, Aileen, Chris, Leslie, Kai and me.  I remember the sunshine. Distantly. I think I look a little stressed. I wonder why. I think at this point the deadline was a few days away.

Jeff and Chris.

My youngest helper, Morgan, and his mum Nicole. With Aileen applying leaf. I don't have pictures of Pat and Daniel who put in so many hours. Sandra and Tracy helped too. It was so great to have support from you all. 

Installed in Kuwait

Here is the mural installed at Starbucks, The Avenues, Kuwait. Some day maybe I'll get to see it. It was such a big part of my life for the past year I kind of miss it. So many friends worked on it with me, from people at the date palm society, friends in Jordan who advised on plants and sent me photos (Dino, Bill Ammar) friends and neighbors here in Seattle who helped me apply gold leaf. So much gold leaf!Family who came down from Canada to help. The wonderful guys at Rainier who cut the wood. I'll find some pictures of us working and post everyone's names. It was a huge amount of fun and a wonderful adventure.

Finally - Ladies and Gentlemen - The Kuwait Mural!

I painted a mural for Starbucks Kuwait this summer. I made it here and it was shipped to the site. It was recently installed and the store has opened so I can post pictures of it now. Here is the blurb that Starbucks uses to describe the subject. We chose the subject matter very carefully with a great deal of consultation between Kuwait and Seattle.

"Imagine that you are walking along the sea shore - in the desert country of Kuwait. The year is 2012. Or 1912. Or any time. You come upon an old stone wall where a pearl fisher recently sat, opening oysters and drinking coffee...





...You are surrounded by the beautiful desert plants of Kuwait, including a shrub with yellow flowers called Arfaj which is symbolic of the country. Hoopoe birds keep watch over the scene...



...In the distance you see pearl fishing dhows sailing the waters of the Gulf...





...And beyond the bay the distant profile of Mutla Ridge rises against the golden sky. In the hot sun everything shines with gold!"







The team - Heather and Kenna who art directed the project. Colin and Damon who oversaw the cutting of the wooden trees. And Ericka who lent me her house to use as a studio. Ray - I don't have a picture of. Tim who got this all started. So many more people helped with this project.





There are painted dates. And dates cut out of wood! The fruit is important to arab culture and tradition.

The wood was cut so carefully with a water jet!

 

 

 

This is the largest painting I have ever made and measures 28x14 feet. (8.5x4.9 metres). Though we planned this for six months, all the painting and woodwork was done in the last five weeks. I developed callouses on my hands from moving the panels around over and over again as I painted.

30 Days of Art

It's time for the 30 Pieces of Art in 30 Days show! On Wednesday, 5 December, you can come for a preview and see all the art on display at the Toshiro Kaplan building in Pioneer Square, Seattle. On Thursday you can buy any of the pieces for $50. I have 30 pen and ink drawings on display. (Some of them were posted a while ago if you scroll down.) Doors open on Thursday at 6pm.