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I was commissioned to create this large scale oil painting for Maya Mexican Restaurant (Shanghai) in 2013 to be displayed as a permanent work in their interior and to commemorate the venue’s 5th year anniversary.
After getting a feel for the restaurant’s interior (the vibrant contrasting/complementary colors throughout, staggering red and yellow walls showcasing bright blues and turquoise paintings, vibrant Expressionist paintings from Diego Rivera, etc.) I began research toward my concept and composition.
I was intrigued to utilize images of stone carvings from the Mayan civilization because of how distinct and unique the carvings are, both visually and symbolically. I made connection between the visual characteristics of Mayan stone carvings and the limestone carvings that decorate the ruins of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Something that really grabbed my attention was how similar these styles were, both in aesthetics and method/process. I had the opportunity to travel to Siem Ream during the Spring Festival winter holiday earlier in the year (2013) and explore the ruins of Angkor Wat. This helped me to visualize the textures of large scale stone carvings that I incorporated into the finished work.
The composition for the final painting consists of a symmetrically layered collage of Mayan deity carvings that appear to be dominating the space while surrounding the glowing Mayan calendar that creates a strong focal point. This type of dramatic light source is something that appears consistently in a lot of my paintings, which helps convey a strong sense of depth and atmosphere, two things necessary for a good narrative.
I usually start most any piece of art that I create (no matter the medium, process, materials, etc.) the same way, by first collecting as many images as I can regarding the subject matter. This helps me to visualize, sketch, and compose. I also use a wide range of methods to create different compositions, ranging from traditional pencil sketches (which I created with this particular project), colored pencil sketches, watercolor sketches, clay models, digital sketches, or the use of Photoshop. There is really no limitations when creating works of art!
1) I first composed 2 pencil sketches that I later presented to the owner of Maya (I try to provide my customers with multiple options in the beginning stages of the project; I find that they appreciate the extra bit of work on their behalf, and… multiple options are better than one). He ended up choosing ‘Sketch 1’. I actually preferred ‘Sketch 2’, but I was able to use this composition with another painting, which I will mention later in this article.
2) After I was set on the composition, it was time to take this small 7in. x 10in. sketch and blow it up to close to 5ft. x 10ft. There are multiple methods to use to do this, but I used a grid method (by gridding off the original sketch and the newly prepped canvas with the same dimensions). This guarantees your proportions to be exactly as your sketch, which if done without a reference, can be tricky because you are unable to see the entire work up close.
3) On a stretched canvas that I prepped myself, I gridded it off and sketched with a vine charcoal stick. Because of the size of this painting, I had to mount it to the wall of my studio space and use a step stool to reach the upper parts of the painting.
4) After the sketch is completed (I only sketch a simple contour with little detail because the sketch will be covered up later anyway, and the painting process will show the details of the work), I begin painting. For this piece, the color scheme was chosen to fit with Maya’s interior (a complementary color scheme consisting of mostly earth tones, oranges, yellows, and turquoise.
A party was held at Maya for its 5th anniversary during Oct. 2013. ‘Mayan Gods’, my large scale oil painting, was unveiled during this party.
I was also invited to come and create a painting as a performance piece (other booths were open during the party consisting of different crafts, such as cigar rolling, tequila tasing, etc.). I ended up using ‘Sketch 2’ (see above) as the source for this painting, which was auctioned off later in the evening during the unveiling.
For ‘Sketch 2’, I would like to go back and create a large-scale painting (similar to ‘Mayan Gods’), because I feel, on a larger scale, this composition would appear very dominant with a tremendous amount of movement. I could also consider painting more to create a mini-series of large-scale compositions.
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