Elgin Historical Soceity: Charity Chair WIP Preliminaries

So, as I may or may not have mentioned I was recently asked to participate in painting a chair for Elgin Historical's Charity Auction. There will be 60 chairs put up on display and auctioned off through the summer and I decided to take up the opportunity to do a little...3D art.

The Chair

While I have yet to actually physically receive the virgin chair, I've put some thought into what exactly it is I will be painting onto the chair. There's a lot of stuff to the history of the town I have grown up in (and currently am still residing). It's been the territory of the Potawatomi Indians, is part of the old Chicago train lines, is full of historical Edwardian and Victorian homes, was once the location of one of the top time piece companies, and is  now the home of the Grand Victoria Casino Boat. 

Yup....sure is a lot to choose from for inspiration, and those are only a few things!

Rough Draft of Chair Back

Anyways, getting back to my focus. I've been really enjoying steampunk culture and trying to twist it into illustrations of late. It's a really neat genre and it happens to fit in with some of my other favorite areas of 'art': pin-ups, costume design, and limited pallets. I've decided that my charity chair will be in the theme of a fantasy steampunk tea time. 

In the sketch above I have a really rough idea of a young woman on a swing, checking her time piece and balancing a cup of tea in her hand. Behind her will be a tree and some suggested vegetation.

Rough Draft of Chair Seat & Arm

In the draft above I have what would be on the ground before the young miss: her picnic lunch, along with the basket and parasol (closed). On the side of the arm of the chair will be a nouveau (not deco as my sketch says) design of vegetation. I also plan to add in a few butterflies (perhaps one or two might be mechanical!).

Pallet I have in mind right now is a variation of light to darker chocolate brown, pink, and possibly an addition of green, blue, or yellow. And of course, white. This is going to be mixed media: spray paint, acrylic, (if it were later possibly even collaged herbs set in the paint), colored pencil, and ink (or marker).

I've never painted on a chair and this is probably going to be more tricky than I imagine. A thought occurred to  me today to ask whether or not it would be alright (and not cheating) to create a 'canvas' slip over the seat and back of the chair. This would be so that I can negate dealing with the breaks in the wood.

Either way, the design will get transfered. I'll keep ya posted on the rest of the process.