Artist Valerie Walden Completes Largest Painting of Her Career

Oct. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- After years of painting in more traditional sizes, artist Valerie Walden super-sized her work to five foot by ten foot dimensions this fall. The painting was actually a mural commissioned by a patron for a private wine tasting room adjacent to a wine cellar. An interior brick wall featured a large cutout that could appear to be a window.  Ms. Walden filled it with an expansive scene of a Tuscan winery set in the midst of the vineyard fields, replete with other villas and mountains in the distance. It was almost as if the winery was just outside the tasting room.

Ms. Walden commented on the challenges of piece: “At first, the scale was daunting, almost overpowering. But, then I approached it as I do when I turn one of my small plein air paintings into a much larger mantle-sized piece. After several smaller sketches, we agreed on the major elements of the composition. I then took those elements up to scale, adjusting and filling in with additional subject matter as the space required.

“Another challenge was the medium. I work in oils or pastels. For a project like this, neither is practical. I eventually adapted some of my oil techniques to work with acrylics. And, all the painting was done on-site, directly onto the prepared wall.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. And, the client agrees. He added special lighting to further illuminate the details of the piece.”

Most paintings by Ms. Walden range in size from 11 inches by 14 inches up to four feet by four feet. That makes the mural her largest work ever, by far.

Ms. Walden noted: “The irony is that last year I challenged myself to do a miniature series of 30 paintings over the summer, each measuring a mere four inches by six inches. The work proved popular. This year, I went in the opposite direction.”

The painting may be viewed on the artist’s website: www.WaldenArt.com.