The Making of The Mountain Biker
“Mountain Biker” work in progress
This year I had the very unusual privilege of painting a commission with virtually no direction! Some artists dislike taking on commissions because of the limitations involved with creating a piece to meet a set of specifications. Others feel overwhelmed by the lack of instruction. I found myself somewhere in the middle, excited with my freedom, while ever so slightly nervous about the final unveiling. Would it be a success? Would it meet expectations? What ARE the expectations?! Here’s how my painting adventure went.
The Mountain Biker (40”x20”)
This year I had the very unusual privilege of painting a commission with virtually no direction! Some artists dislike taking on commissions because of the limitations involved with creating a piece to meet a set of specifications. Others feel overwhelmed by the lack of instruction. I found myself somewhere in the middle, excited with my freedom, while ever so slightly nervous about the final unveiling. Would it be a success? Would it meet expectations? What ARE the expectations?! Here’s how my painting adventure went.
I was told it should be office-appropriate and should say something about my client, a bit of a statement piece that was eye-catching. Fortunately, this client is not a total stranger, and I knew we shared a mutual love of mountain biking. He’d recently been on a mountain biking vacation in Nevada where he took beautiful photographs of that barren, rocky landscape contrasting with the vivid blue, cloud-studded sky. I love that combination of colours; therefore I chose one of his shots to be my painting’s backdrop. The next step was to decide whether I should place an image of my client in the landscape, or a more generic ‘mountain biking man’. It happened that I found a perfect stock image that was cropped in such a way (without showing the biker’s face or head) as to emphasize the activity. It was an unusual vantage point to be looking up at a biker from a low angle whilst the biker pedaled 'into the painting'. Furthermore, the direction of the sun's rays on the biker perfectly matched the light source in my friend’s landscape photo.
I digitally combined the images and toyed with adding other elements to the image but settled on a strong off-centre focal point (biker) in an overall realistic, majestic landscape. And so I proceeded to paint. I did a pencil outline of the landscape, and then built it in, back to front. First I painted the sky, then distant hills, closer hills, vegetation, then and the ground closest to the viewer. Next I sketched out my biker on paper and proceeded to transfer his outlines (graphite transfer) onto the painted background. Finally it was time to commence my focal point, the biker on his bike.
The challenge with a piece of machinery is that, unlike illustrating the organic shape of a petal in nature (that I am accustomed to painting), I can’t just go with the flow and paint what feels good if I hoped for the bike to have any visual integrity. If I painted without a plan, I would end up with terribly skewed wheels and gears that would completely nullify any of my attempts at realism! Frequently through that painstaking process of painting in sprockets, pedals, cranks, wheels and more, I thought fondly of my Technical Illustration professor who was justifiably fanatical about his students’ ellipses being accurate. I hope the finished product would be satisfactory to his trained eye!
At last the big reveal occurred. I wasn’t there to behold it with my own eyes, but I was relieved and happy to receive a text message that indicated pleasure with and gratitude for the piece. The text message read: “God in heaven. I just got your painting and it is beyond amazing. No hyperbole. I’m beyond words…” And so, the mountain biker found his home, to forever speak of movement, bravery, adventure, breath-taking vistas and the glorious scenes that await just beyond the next curve of the trail.
Click here to see a short video of the painting’s evolution.
Jamie later wrote in Facebook:
Marion Aitken you have many talents and an indomitable drive to connect with people in profound ways. I have an unflinching respect for your ability to identify and paint such evocative imagery that inspires feelings of hope, challenge, determination, peril, adventure and excitement. Thank you for creating such an amazing piece. I can assure everyone, that it looks even more spectacular in person.
