Heartbeat of Folsom

I was chosen to be an artist in a project called the Heartbeat of Folsom in my hometown. The project was centered around painting a heart sculpture that represented the heart of the town.

Before we were given the hearts, we had to submit a rough draft. My concept for the heart painting was one of the walking trail bridges and the Folsom Lake. My sponsor requested a solid gold top of the heart.

Each artist that was sponsored was given a 3.5 foot fiberglass heart to paint.

The first step after actually getting the massive heart inside was to get my rough draft sketched on the heart. This step was actually the most challenging part of the entire project for me. Drawing on the curve and getting the measurements correct took more time than anticipated.

Once I got the sketch on the heart, it was time to start painting! Adding that first splash of color the the all white heart made me so happy!

Next I decided to paint the hills that surround the lake.

Instead of painting the top portion gold, I decided that I wanted to use gold leaf so that it would be really shiny and give the heart a real "wow factor". This was the first time that I had used gold leaf and there is a slight learning curve. I knew that gold leaf was delicate, but I didn't realize just HOW delicate it was! The finish on the heart was not smooth, so it took 2-3 layers of gold leaf to actually cover all of the white on the top. The gold leaf did tear quite a bit on the first layer, but not as much on the second and third layer.

After 3 weeks and countless hours of working on the heart, it is finished!

After the unveiling of the hearts, it was installed at the sponsor's business. This was such a fun project to participate in as an artist!