Mural for a Yoga Retreat
I was chosen from over 100 artists to create a mural for a yoga retreat center in the south east of Spain, not far from Murcia. I had been dreaming about doing a mural for a while so was very happy to be given the opportunity and excited with the prospect of a travel adventure too!
I was already painting the series 'Feminine Awakening Portraits' in the country, when a yoga teacher friend of mine suggested I applied. The brief was to paint a mural in keeping with the surrounding landscape and inspired by the charm and magic of fairy tale and myth.
Inspired by Magic
The owner fell in love with my collections, feeling moved by the magical quality of my work with its strong links to nature. An avid fan of Tolkiens enchanted worlds and all things Fea meant I had the perfect starting point for ideas and immediately understood feeling he wanted to convey.
After doing some research I came up with the idea of a peacock, inspired by the beautiful feathers and the birds symbolism with rejuvenation and the feminine principles. Elliot loved the essence of these ideas. We both felt the almond tree, which was full of blossom at the time, would nod to Spanish landscape and the enchanted forests in Tolkiens worlds.
One of the beautiful rustic guest houses for the yogi's on retreat. All hand crafted by Elliot
Sharing Vision
It is a wonderful thing when commissioner and designer of a project have a shared vision and communicate with ease. Elliot and I totally 'got' each other from the start and I felt positive about the fundamental aspects of project. The design of the tree literally grew and adapted to the balcony space, changing slightly as I spent more time working in the space.
The tree and the peacock built up in layers giving depth of colour and a 3D to the bark and feathers. People started commenting on how life like the tree looked. At the final stage I added gold leaf into the peacocks feathers... just a little sparkle to finish it off!
A little bit of detail goes a long way to making a place magical
Bagend is nestled into a valley that once boasted many water mills. Sadly the water has gone now and the mills stand empty. Elliot's retreat has brought a vibrant and creative buzz back to this part of the valley. He has no less that 300 lemon trees! As I walk round I cant help but take some moments of stillness under one large tree and listen to the sound of the bees. I realise how blessed I felt that my art had become another layer of enchanting glue, holding the vision of the place together. Its started as a dream, and well, you know where they can get you.
Do you have a project needing some creative and colourful input? Contact me