exciting news part 3

1. an early blog photo hint & my favourite ever coffee mug 2. collage of North America on 22 x 30 - watercolour paper 
3. I created a paisley swirl pattern to layer under the coffee-stained oceans using coffee beans, the star shaped coffee plant flower and leaves & swirls - swirls have become a bit of a signature element in my work 4. collage of Europe & Africa on 22 x 30 - watercolour paper 5. painting my 22 x 30 pattern with a No. 2 brush and transparent raw umber ink 6. collage of Asia, Australia & New Zealand - 22 x 30 watercolour paper 7. I was shocked at how many hours/days it took to complete my paisley swirl pattern but in the end I think it added a lot to the final mural 8-12. - my friend Carmen Mok who lives near Toronto visited this just opened Starbucks location at 1Yonge Street and kindly took tons of photos for me ;-) 13. a mini version of my final photoshop layered artwork !!

I couldn't have done it without you dear Photoshop 

Exciting news part 3 (subtitled yah ! for me) a 12 x 5 Starbucks map mural - My most recent BIG (literally) top secret project revealed. I had exactly 1 month to meet my deadline, 1 month from the morning I enthusiastically said YES !! of course I can create a 12 x 5 foot mural map of the world's coffee growing regions using my own coffee stained, hand drawn typographic collage style - Sure, you bet I can ! 

Then of course I promptly free fell into a seemingly bottomless pit of despair, stress & anxiety. Yikes !! I thought, HOW would I pull this off and COULD I pull it off ? this particular pit, this abyss - a stop along every challenging creative project - was by far the deepest, the scariest & the longest lasting that I can recall. It was the technical issues of creating something that in it's final state would be 12' x 5' that had me so paralyzed in the beginning. Finally after nearly 10 full days of starts & stops & mostly fear I did 2 things that changed the course of this project.

1. I gave myself permission to FAIL. I came to terms with the possibility that maybe I had met my match with this particular project, maybe the technical aspects were beyond my capabilities, if Photoshop was a giant iceberg (which in a way it is) I know and am comfortable with the teensiest, tiniest tip of that iceberg. So if I did FAIL, meaning I'd try and in the end the client wouldn't use my art ... that would be the worst thing that could happen & I can't expect to win every game, can I ?

2. Realizing that I'd need to work large scale, meaning I'd need large scale scanning done I called Craig Yorke at ImageHouse in Halifax one fateful early Monday morning - the smartest thing I could've done. ImageHouse specializes in large format printing and they're famous for working with artists. I knew he had both the technical knowledge and a creative's eye & care working with artwork. Craig and I spoke on the phone many times (& ImageHouse did my large scans) he hand held me, commiserated with me, talked me down from that scary place, cheered me on & in the end complimented me on the final, FINAL art. I could not have done this project without him. Period.

I think I can speak for most designers when I say that Starbucks and it's brand identity, packaging, shop art & decor has always been a company I've admired so to list them as a client is a huge thrill. Not to mention the incredible feeling of faith & confidence in myself that comes with successfully completing (on deadline) such a challenging project. Yah ! for me.  Y-A-H !!

* Joanne from Blue Heron noticed the coffee bean motif early on in my pattern painting photo here ;-)