Claudia’s
This project was an absolute delight! Hired to update an already existing, wonderful Guatemalan restaurant in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I enjoyed getting to once again use my handy-man carpenter blood.
The painting began originally as a joint mural project with my dear friend John Matthew Harrell (I was only involved in the brainstorming of the image design, it was his handiwork entirely that scaled and drew it). We first tried splitting the painting of the piece in half but then realized our aesthetics were too different. The early images of the volcano (appropriately assigned to me ha!) below illustrate that.
Then, as the project grew and more of the 650 square feet needed some pigment attention, Harrell finished the mural and I took care of the walls and trims––in the restaurant, bathroom, kitchen, and office––the chalkboards, the tables, and benches (some inside and the one around the tree outside). The colors were chosen by myself after discussing the aesthetic vision with one of the owners, Raffaello Van Couten. The table designs too initially grew out of one of his inspirations, and they were the most enjoyable and fulfilling parts of the project (besides the early, long hour painting frenzies with Harrell).
Many hours and gallons of paint later, I wish I could do it all again and again.
An incredible team to work for and collaborate with.
