After spending 3-4 months consistently painting almost every day, the mural is finally finished. My first reaction to the painting is that it is a collection of multiple scenes merged into one space, with vibrant colors and captivating detail. Acrylic paint was the medium used for this entire painting, which led to the vibrant and lively colors. I used a mix of foreshortening and warped perception to add a whimsical and unrealistic fantasy element that makes it more playful than a realism piece. That being said, by adding small details such as the items on the desk, the cat and other things that are close to realism, the piece still shows my technical skill in painting. My inspiration for this project was old libraries and books such as Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and other fantastical books. Having the opportunity to explore and paint combining art and literature (arguably my two favorite things) was super exciting. After a few weeks of many many rough sketches and discussions on what to include in the painting, I landed on a final idea. Although during the painting process I did exercise some trial and error and edit/ add to the project as I saw fit.

   To keep balance in the mural I decided to section it into 3 parts, the desk part, the library chair, and the outdoor/ tree section. And to tie it all together and keep it from looking too separated I added the foliage border that ties it to two trees on either end of the mural. One thing i struggled with the most was the thinness of the paint and how glossy the paint dries, as someone who is more comfortable with matte mediums such as gouache and oils- working with acrylic was not ideal, but nevertheless I'm not Michelangelo and can't use oil paint for the mural. Because of the medium and relative time limit, I wasn't able to incorporate as much detailed texture and had to alter my style slightly to fit the medium.

   Although not holding a super deep meaning, i feel like this murals message is to not be afraid to be ambitious and to not doubt your abilities, that is also why i decided to include the Sylvia Plath quote: “the worst enemy of creativity is self-doubt”, because A) I'm a nerd, but more importantly B) if i didn't overcome my anxieties about such a big public display of my art I wouldn't have created this painting at all.

   The part of the mural I like the most is the desk part which coincidentally is the first section I finished. I really like the Hamlet easter eggs i included in the desk drawer and the jars + other details on the desk. I really enjoy painting small items such as cups, lamps, etc.- so I had a lot of fun doing that around the painting. I would say my biggest struggle was painting the large flat surfaces/ places without as much detail like the chair, the floor and the sky portion. If I were to do this mural again I would probably find a way to add more variation in value, incorporating lighter values so it doesn't look as dark. With the acrylic paint, it was difficult to layer without making the colors extremely dark and especially trying to mix different shades to green and brown that kept ending up extremely dark- or straight up grey.

   My final thoughts on this project is that I'm happy to have been able to contribute to the school atmosphere and ‘leave my mark’ before i graduate.