Greetings!
Thought you might enjoy these photos of my recent trip to Lakewood, Washington (just outside of Seattle), to install 2 large paintings I was commissioned to complete for a new luxury condominium project at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club (the oldest club in WA). To meet the project deadline, I had to take 3 days off from the Celebration of Fine Art show in Scottsdale (www.celebrateart.com ) to fly up to the cold and rain, but I didn't mind- it offered a nice break during the run of the 10 week show (hope I didn't miss anyone at the booth while I was gone). Anyway, I hope you get a kick out of this peak into the always interesting life of an artist.All the best,Bruce |
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I was commissioned to do the paintings by the developers Jim Tsang and Butch Porter, who contacted me back in October after having seen my work on the website. They flew in to meet with me, and to see my work in person. After our initial consultations, I created a digital mock-up of the project, allowing them to get a sense of the finished look (I frequently do these mock-ups using photos, but in this case it was done from architectural drawings).
Happy with the proposal, I received the 'thumbs up," and began work on the paintings. But the real fun began after the paintings were completed, and it was time to fly up to Seattle to supervise their installation...
Here's an aerial shot of the beautiful location of the project (Country Club Place) nestled on the shores of American Lake...Wow! Of course, it looked a little different when I arrived, in the midst of an overcast and rainy February day.
After flying in to Seattle and
picking up my rental car, I set out with a pile of maps to find the
club, and after about a 40 minute drive pulled up at the gates.
Here's a shot of the front of the development (want to learn more? Go to www.countryclubplacetacoma.com). It's a little deceiving- it appears to be a two-story building, but there are actually five levels lakeside. This is one of two buildings, which are mirror images of each other (they are still
under construction). Recognize the arched entryway and the large display window from the drawing in the mock-up? That's where my paintings will go, one for each
building.
Here's what the lake looked like on the day I was there (this is the view from one of the balconies).
Butch and Jim were waiting for me, and gave me a tour of the property. Here Jim consults with the project foreman on completion details for the kitchen of one of the residences. Even in this rough state, I could see how gorgeous these condos would be!
Here's a view of the fireplace, and a glimpse of the wall of windows and balconies looking lakeside.
But it was time for me to get to work. Because of the large size of the paintings ( 60" x 156" each), and the need to ship them to Seattle, I divided each piece into thirds. That way, once I completed the paintings in my Chandler studio, I could 'break them down' into smaller units to ship, then re-assemble them once on-site with a series of bolts and washers (the "D" you see on each of these was part of my labeling system for re-assembly... my wife Lee ribbed me endlessly about needing help to get the panels put back in the right order!)
The owners had arranged to have one of the workmen available to assist me with the hanging- here he is installing the special series of hanging blocks that were created to support the lengthy piece.
Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough...here's a first glimpse of one of the paintings. Actually, the architect Jim Tsang, had an interesting concept for the two pieces.
He wanted them based on my Textura series, but asked me to create one in cool tones, representing the lake, and the other in warmer hues, inspired by the surrounding earth. This is why you see two different background colors in the shots above, as they selected custom shades to go behind each piece.
And here they are...
Textura : Reflections I (above) and II (below).
It's just impossible to get a sense of the scale from these small images, but perhaps the picture below will help.
That's me on the left, and Butch and Jim beside me. It was nighttime by the time we'd finished, and very hard to get a good shot of the pieces as installed. But, when I got home and downloaded the photos from my digital camera, this one image struck me.
It's a little out of focus, and of course it would have been better if you didn't see the taillights of my rental car in the foreground... but I think it captures the spirit of the
artwork in its new home, reaching out to lend a warm welcome to the
lucky individuals that will reside there, at the place
where the water and the earth meet.
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Thanks for the Feedback!
Thanks to everyone for sending the wonderful emails after my most recent email posts- it's just great to get to hear your responses to them. The "Booth Construction" email sent in January brought a record number of replies! So again, thank you- it's very uplifting to receive that positive energy (plus, it helps me know what you find interesting, so I can make future blasts even better)!
Matisse and I have another week left at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale. I hope if you're in the area, you'll stop by and say "hello" - you'll find us at booth # 249 & 250
(The show closes March 29th)
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Buy Bruce's book on the website!
That's right, you can now purchase Bruce's new book on his website. "Bruce Marion: An Exploration of Texture and Form" - get your copy today!
Buy The Book
Price: $ 125.00
S & H: $ 7.95
Plus Sales Tax (if applicable)
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