Don Quixote and the Windmill

When I was contacted about painting a mural of Don Quixote, I was instantly excited. I think the client knew I was the right person for the job when he asked if I knew Don Quixote and the windmill scene, and I quoted a line from the book.

- jason c-m

In discussing the mural with the client, Jason worked to solve the problem of depicting Quixote and his horse Rosanante large enough to be satisfying, while balancing the windmill (the client wanted to see the entire windmill in the mural). Looking at many illustrations of the novel over the years, Jason found that most artists illustrating this chapter chose to depict the moment after the collision, Quixote and his horse dashed to the ground. He, on the other hand, chose the moment just before the charge for its grand, hopeful heroism.

Once the "large wall" in question was actually seen, though, it didn't seem to live up to the grand vision the client had for it. Two doors broke the wall into three small spaces, and the client wanted to leave the doors unpainted.

Jason presented a number of proposal mockups: three different scales (up in the corner, stretched across one door, and stretched across both doors) and three different treatments of the doors for each scale (blank doors, doors painted to match the wall, and doors painted with faded versions of the wall colors to give a transparent effect). The client quickly chose the mockup for the largest scale, with the transparent doors.

In this particular commission, no further rendering was requested beyond the rough mockup, and Jason went to work directly on the wall.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

The mural was completed in roughly six and a half days.

More photos of "Don Quixote and the Windmills" in the Gallery section

The Vase Process