'55 Cadillac Convertible Mural!

I have always loved the challenge of creating illusory surfaces with acrylic paints, including the effect of a bottomless finish on, for example, a painting of a vintage automobile. It just so happens that one of my all-time favorite "finishes" is so-called "Candy-Apple Red", that is one of the classic colors of the pre-nineteen sixties American-Made cars. A noteworthy example of this would be the classic 1955 Cadillac Convertible.

An early shot of the work-in-progress, after about five glazes.

I was especially happy to be awarded a design contract a couple of months ago to create an articulate cut-out silhouette of both a '55 Caddy along with a vintage Texaco fuel pump, as decor to compliment the candy-apple red painted doors in a private Saskatoon residence.

Getting serious with glazing, about ten layers in. 

I am happy to share a few pictures of the work-in-progress with my readers, and also the finished montage. Just FYI, both of the objects were cut out and painted with professional artist's acrylics on "cresone" which is a high-grade painter's panel. Cresone, also known as "M.D.O" or "Medium Density Overlay"  is an exterior grade plywood with a waterproof super-smooth paper coating, that makes it idea for mural-painting applications. In many cases, this is superior to working directly on an existing surface. Remember, a mural is only as good as the strata that it's painted on!

The wall that would eventually receive the cut-out panels.

We decided after our preliminary discussions that the preference would be painted (aka removable) panels in favor of painting directly on the wall. The advantage of this approach is, if the occupants ever decide to move, then they can easily detach the panels and retain their original artwork.

Finished! The panels may be removed at a later date if required. See the advantage?

I was happy to complete and install the painted panels on schedule. Also, I can report that my clients were delighted with the result. It's funny, I had mentioned to my wife not that long ago that I would love to create some artwork with an articulate cut-out silhouette and then "bam", it happened!