Burning Man mural
This year Burning Man commissioned me to come out early and paint an 8x8' mural at Center Camp. It was located on the fence surrounding the outside of the Cafe on the Wheel, one of the most active areas of the entire burn. I had complete creative liberty. My actual space turned out to be 8x12', which was a wonderful last minute challenge as I had to alter the dimensions laid out in my sketches. They gifted me a stunning location too, really an honor. I never feel this way about my art but I think it turned out very well.
I decided to create a piece tied to my experiences this year at Transformus. The first responders and everyone else came through it all with flying colors. To celebrate this I painted a giant colorful phoenix with flames in the background. My phoenix always look like eagles, so it went along with the American Dream theme by pure happenstance. I was going to dedicate it to those who were there at the Transformus temple burn fiasco but instead decided to inscribe it to everyone who's ever gone through a fire and come out stronger. I felt it was more in line with true burner ethos.
Painting this was also a personal test I gave myself, what with my carpal tunnel and all. Now I know I can still do it!
Click on the cut for many and larger pics.
"Flying Colors"
L. Brooks
Latex paint on plywood, 8'x12'
Commissioned and displayed at Burning Man 2008
Hell Yeah took this picture mere minutes after I finished painting. It's good for showing scale - I'm about 6' tall in those boots - and funny because you can see how gleefully cracked out I was on creative energy. I really enjoyed creating this piece. I painted it Sunday night of work week after the sun went down. The air was cool and the dust was low. DPW had rigged an overhead light that shone an oasis of light down on my workspace. It was Zen-level peaceful. People would wander by and quietly come up as I was working and tell me how much they liked it. There were other artists working on murals nearby; such fantastic creativity fueled the entire experience. It truly was beautiful.
The inscription. You can also see my signature off to the side.
I hope you like it.