'We' was Me and Tiffany Hurlston, who I invited to draw on one of the windows while I did the other. Having to create a pair of illustrations which complemented each other without compromising our respective styles was easier than first thought, because even though I work in ink lines and she likes to draw in pencil, the common denominator was a life-long love of drawing 'pretty ladies' and flowing healthy hair. And what else could a salon wish for on their windows?
First came the rough - here's my Photoshop sketch where I've traced Tiffany's drawing (left as you look at it) and my spontaneous sketch on the right.
This was approved by Tom and Katie, then we lent Tiffany one of our walls to practise working at a large scale for the first time:
I drew some ideas in a sketchbook but abandoned the mopey fringe, the spaced-out curls and and Rihanna-esque sulkfest for a serene Art Nouveau side profile:
When this didn't really mirror Tiffany's haughty-couture lady, a re-draw of the original wind-blown sketch was made with Aveda's herbal ingredients skittering through her hair in the autumn wind:
We put our drawings onto acetates so that they could be projected from inside and the guidelines followed (less used to freestyling, Tiffany was more comfortable using a guide for her first large-scale piece - I followed suit to get eyes, nose and chin in the right spot).
On site, we covered the windows with lining paper to enable projection and keep nosy eyeballs from seeing what was happening. Projecting wasn't the most brilliant idea, but for this job was the safest in ensuring a good result in the tight time available (an afternoon!)
Painting commenced.
Then we ripped off all of the paper to reveal...
And I knitted the two pieces together with a hand-drawn salon welcome (which had to be written backwards of course):
Tom and Katie with their faces of approval!
And this is how it looks from the street:
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