The acronym to know is GAP: Grants for Artist Projects.  It is part of Artist Trust, a Washington organization that hooks up artists with grants.  An incredible resource that I am so honored to receive.

To make a long story short, after months of waiting and wondering, I just found out I was selected!  60 artists from authors to musicians to photographers were picked out of 600 some applications.  I am beyond stoked.  I now have funding for the paint and to rent a boom lift to reach those hard to reach places on walls that are way beyond the reach of an aluminum ladder.

My project on their website is as follows:

Marlin will use 2011 GAP funding to paint a large public mural in Seattle that is both staggering to the viewer for its size and subject, and amusingly perplexing for its “trompe l’oeil” realism. The majority of the cost will be the rental of a boom lift to reach high onto the wall. This will allow the mural to be able to be completed fast, and give it the great size and scope that will make it a landmark and an icon.

What this description leaves out is what I will be painting on the wall in question.  What exactly is “trompe l’oeil”?  Good question.  It is French for ‘deceive the eye’. Basically it is painting extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.

My mural will be 2 huge, huge Opiliones arachnids hanging out like we always see them, casually and vertically on a wall.  They will be approximately 1 zillion times life-size, depending on the wall site I get.  I chose them because of the cool way their long legs cast shadows, and that they are not threatening- they don’t have venom, fangs, and thus don’t bite humans.  They are a familiar sight here in Seattle and contrary to popular belief, they are not even spiders!

I will utilize my years of scientific illustration to sketch the cuties from real specimens.  To achieve a believable trompe l’oeil effect, I will have to choose a “time of day”.  Both the subtle glare on the exoskeletal plates and the position of the cast-shadow onto the wall will be of utmost importance.  To do this I will make miniature models of them and bring them to the wall at the right time of day to cast the perfect shadow, (that I can map and photograph).  To passersby it will appear that these flat painted daddy long legs are hoisting themselves up off the wall.

If anyone notices a big smooth light-colored wall in Seattle, I am all ears.  Here is a mock up I just finished of a great wall in Pioneer Square:

Please let me know what you think!