Cactus Mural Anniversary!

Three years ago I had the opportunity to work on a wonderfully interesting project in one of my favourite places - the University of Durham Botanic Garden! The project was to paint a mural to go in the Cactus House.



Situated next to the Tropical House in the complex, the Cactus House backs onto another glasshouse. The Garden staff wanted a mural which could be installed to screen the room behind, and also to serve as an educational tool for visitors.


I was given a list of species to feature on the mural, which were to complement the collection of living cacti and succulents in the glasshouse. I produced a sketch/plan showing where the cacti were to be situated on the mural, with the landscape behind drawing the eye compositionally into the scene.



Below you can see the lovely smooth clean boards - primed with several coats of white gesso. I do love to start a new painting, and this one was in a particularly interesting environment!


The staff had made a kind of 'easel' for the boards to rest on in one of the glasshouses behind the cactus house.


To my right was an amazing feature - a raised pond housing the Victoria amazonica!


I worked during the afternoons, so that visitors to the garden could come and see what I was doing and talk with me. Later, when the gardens were closed, I was given the keys to the glasshouses so I could work uninterruptedly during the night. It was wonderful to watch the sky grow dark and the stars appear through the ceiling of the glasshouse!



I built the mural up in stages, from the basic drawing in pale colours, to laying in the blue sky, and then gradually working up the foreground.

More form and detail was gradually added.



To my right, the shapes of the lilypads in the raised pond were a constant source of fascination!

During the night, new lilies opened from buds. I would be painting away, then turn round, and a beautiful lily had opened!




Behind the pond were all kinds of cacti in pots - can you see the one with the little face that someone had made in it?

I had a comfortable bench to sit on to paint the details lower in the mural.


And little creatures to keep me company!






The mural was nearly complete ...


Details on the left ...


Details on the right ...


The Head Gardener asked me to paint a secret giraffe somewhere on the mural for visiting school children to find ... can you see the neck?



Why? ... Places can become secret portals to other worlds when mysterious intergalactic light shines on them!



After many days the mural was complete!


It was installed into position in the Cactus House. I love to go and see it and relive the wonderful time I had painting in such a special place. If you click on the picture below, you can view the website of the Botanic Garden.
Ingrid Sylvestre Mural Painter Mural Artist Durham North East England UK Newcastle Sunderland Teesside Darlington Northumberland Murals

Spring Tree Dance

I have just completed this painting, after having laid down the first brushstrokes in 2001! Sometimes it is good to let a painting grow slowly, just like the trees it portrays.

The group of Hornbeams are situated in the University of Durham Botanic Garden, and I have drawn and painted them several times. I love their rhythmic shapes and the way the group interact with each other spatially, with the steep hill beyond. Situated in a deep dell overshadowed by trees, the light has a golden-green hue giving the place a secretive feel. One feels the need to tiptoe by, not to disturb the trees in their Spring revelry!


This is a much larger painting than the one featured in a previous post, measuring around 70 x 50 cm. I used a beautifully textured thick tinted watercolour paper, and waterproof ink to add the linear qualities to the watercolour.

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NB: As my followers will know, I am highly concerned about the future of our Forests, and will follow with interest the progress of the campaign particularly at Save Our Woods. This article by European Trees about the government panel draws attention to urgent needs.

Ingrid Sylvestre English Landscape Painter Durham North East England UK Newcastle Teesside Sunderland Darlington Northumberland Landscape Paintings Garden Paintings Paintings of Trees and Woods and Forests Fine Artist Paintings for Sale.

Completed!

The Cactus House Mural is completed! I thought I'd start the post with the finished mural, and then go back in time to when I started today's session, (Sunday).

When I arrived at the glasshouse the sun was shining in, so I had to wear sunglasses!

Stepping back to survey the scene, I noticed what appeared to be a line of dots in the distance ...

A camel train! Where had they come from?

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My paintbrush - at the request of Mike Hughes, Head Gardener! They will be a useful addition when schools visit the garden, to talk about the desert habitat and how camels store water.

Having painted in the camels, I turned my attention to the Echinopsis pachanoi, adding more detail and definition to the flowers, and multitudes of spines.

The Cereus jamacaru also got its share of spines.

I wasn't quite satisfied with the Echinocactus grusonii. Their forms were OK, but they wanted a little more subtlety in the treatment.

That's better! (The colour is entirely different because between these two photos being taken it had gone dark and I had switched the lights on, affecting the colour on the photos). I had softened the contours and added a goldish 'halo' to indicate the fine spines.

The Opuntia robusta needed a little more shadowing ...

I added more deeper colour in places to achieve the desired effect.

I also worked into the rocks a little more to give the sense of depth.

Before deciding definitely that the mural was finished, I went along section by section, starting with the Aloe dichotoma. I had worked a little more detail into the leaves earlier, and was satisfied. The Agave americana were also ready.

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Next I checked over the Cereus jamacaru.

All was satisfactory there, and also with the Aloe buhrii.

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The Echinocactus grusonii were finished.

The Opuntia robusta was now complete, with its many spines indicated in the paint.

Lastly the Echinopsis pachanoi, and the foreground rocks - all finished to my satisfaction!

Creating the Cactus House Mural has been a tremendously enjoyable experience. I have found the artwork challenging and fulfilling, and the studio setting fantastic. Working next to a large raised pond in which Victoria amazonica has been flowering almost nightly has been unforgettable. The sound of crickets chirping has added to the magic of the moment.

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The mural will be installed in the Cactus House imminently.

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To see further examples of Ingrid Sylvestre's work please visit her main site Ingrid Sylvestre Art. 

For commissions and bookings please email: 

IngridSylvestreArt[at]gmail[dot[com

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