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Dar Slimane... In a sanctuary outside of Marrakech, there's a beautiful garden where peacocks roam and wildflowers grow as they will. The only condition was to create a mural inspired by the local surroundings. I was drawn to the blossoming olive trees, random pockets of overgrown flowers intertwined with other plants, and a long pathway framed with a canopy of roses. It was clear the mural would encompass the sense of adventure and delight I felt while walking through all the fresh and exotic spring blossoms. Since I didn't have a computer on me, my process became more "natural" as I'll show you here:
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First I looked for inspiration (it was not hard!) by exploring on foot and bike...
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... and familiarized myself with all the spring plants by drawing them.
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I created the design in 2 layers—the first, a border of olive branches from the grove...
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... the second, filling in the spaces with a collection of wildflowers that were growing all around me.
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Instead of mixing colours on a computer and matching them to paint chips, I mixed available pastels to match the colours of the plants. This page was my reference for selecting paint chips at the hardware store.
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The design was projected onto the wall into quadrants. Many bugs were attracted to the night time light and flew into the wall (and me)!
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The drawing traced with white chalk.
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Scaffolding set up, painting begins.
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There came a point when I wasn't satisfied with the colours. The blue was too strong so I added violet to make it pinker and lighter. The white outlines defining the leaves and petals looked too harsh so I made a lighter tint of each colour instead.
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The design pulls together and the mural is almost complete. Here I am the day before I left Morocco. Thank you Dar Slimane for inviting me into (what another artist called it) your garden of Eden. Thinking about your own mural? Click here to see more mural designs...
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The High Atlas Mountains... run East-West below Marrakech, about halfway through the country. My new friend Manu and I drove for 3 days through the gorgeous mountain range. The terrain changed constantly, showing diversity in colours, plant life, and temperatures. Through sun and wind, cold and fog, high altitudes and flat valleys, we couldn't help but stop every 10 minutes for a photo! The trip was stunning, exciting and so beautiful. We stayed with a Berber couple in their mountaintop home, ate delicious tagines and drank freshly squeezed orange juice at stands on the side of the road. Far from the cities, I was able to relax and left Morocco with a warm heart.
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Fields of colourful cactus, thistles, poppies and flowers lined the roads as we drove up and around, twisting higher and higher.
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Even in the deserted desert, there were many interesting random things...
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... and funny animals like these goats that have adapted to climbing trees to reach the argon fruit...
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... and once in a while, we passed humans too like this friendly shepherd watching his flock of sheep (and who generously allowed me to take his photo).
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The lovely Berber couple we stayed with, showing me all the plants in their garden.
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Tin Mal is 862 years old and 1 of 2 mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims can visit.
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And then a relaxing couple of days in the beautiful town of Essaouira, where the sky is always this blue. Follow along to see photos of the Chelsea Hotel mural and more projects on Instagram...
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Thank you for hearting ART
Pam
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Comments?
We’d love to hear from you! Please send any questions or comments about this Art Letter to pam@pamlostracco.com
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