Double Take: What Is Blooming in This Powder Room?
Artist Gavin Benjamin creates a beautiful mixed-media botanical mural
Opening them reveals a wondrous garden full of oversize roses.
“The idea is derived from from large old-world tapestries; I thought, ‘What if I could sort of make something like that on a larger scale and take photography to the next level?’” Benjamin says. “I started shooting everything I could get my hands on, and every year the idea developed a little more.”
To make the wallcovering, he started with a medium-format negative, then converted it to digital, then worked in Photoshop to collage several of the rose images together into one large image that he could print as panels. He also used Photoshop to lighten different strips within the image. After printing the panels on thick 40-by-116-inch pieces of photography paper, he hand-painted each one in different ways — for example, emphasizing extra pink on flowers. The hand-painting made each of the panels unique. Finally, he added six coats of lacquer to each panel in his studio. “It becomes like plastic — you can wipe it down with Pledge,” he says.
“The idea is derived from from large old-world tapestries; I thought, ‘What if I could sort of make something like that on a larger scale and take photography to the next level?’” Benjamin says. “I started shooting everything I could get my hands on, and every year the idea developed a little more.”
To make the wallcovering, he started with a medium-format negative, then converted it to digital, then worked in Photoshop to collage several of the rose images together into one large image that he could print as panels. He also used Photoshop to lighten different strips within the image. After printing the panels on thick 40-by-116-inch pieces of photography paper, he hand-painted each one in different ways — for example, emphasizing extra pink on flowers. The hand-painting made each of the panels unique. Finally, he added six coats of lacquer to each panel in his studio. “It becomes like plastic — you can wipe it down with Pledge,” he says.
Here’s a close-up of the image, which was repeated along the walls. Benjamin shot these roses at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
His clients, fans who had collected some of his smaller pieces, were interested in working with his vision. “I wanted to create something that was at once serious and playful,” he says.
Because the clients wanted to be able to take the mural with them if they ever moved, Benjamin installed it with silver furniture tacks. “It was lots of work and it was expensive, but it was really exciting and my clients were very supportive,” he says. “Now the owners liken the powder room to a cabinet of curiosities.”
More: Photo Flip: 102 Eye-Popping Powder Rooms
His clients, fans who had collected some of his smaller pieces, were interested in working with his vision. “I wanted to create something that was at once serious and playful,” he says.
Because the clients wanted to be able to take the mural with them if they ever moved, Benjamin installed it with silver furniture tacks. “It was lots of work and it was expensive, but it was really exciting and my clients were very supportive,” he says. “Now the owners liken the powder room to a cabinet of curiosities.”
More: Photo Flip: 102 Eye-Popping Powder Rooms
Artist Gavin Benjamin transformed the small room into a glorious space full of oversize roses, using his artwork that combines photography and painting.
Because the doors to the powder room are usually closed, it was a great opportunity to place a big surprise behind them.