Cover the Earth

Since 1905 Sherwin-Williams has used the slogan "Cover the Earth" to promote the beauty and performance of their paints.  A French artist is now making a real attempt to cover the earth with giant paintings on the hillsides of Switzerland.

A self-taught artist, Saype got his start by creating innovative and eye-catching graffiti on the transit trains of Paris and Brussels.  He has also painted on canvas, again featuring scenes from trains.

Another innovation Saype has adopted is the use of multiple plexiglass panels to form a scene - thinking 'outside-the-canvas.'  By painting part of the scene on each panel and stacking them he makes the works more 'dynamic.'  He sometimes lights the interstices between the panels with LEDs to further enhance the underground feeling.

In 2015 Saype initiated the latest phase of his career that he calls 'Land Art.' Once he has identified a suitable site he first cuts the grass low.  He next outlines the figures on the grass. Then, using a special bio-degradable paint that he prepares himself, he uses a spray gun to fill in his picture in a gigantic paint-by-numbers type process.  He has used drones to review his progress and for photographing the works. 

About 150 gallons of paint were needed to create Saype's most recent work entitled 'A Story of the Future,' featuring a small child reading a book on a hillside in Les Rochers-de-Naye in Veytaux, Switzerland. Each petal of the flowers in the picture is about the height of a man.  The entire picture covers more than the area of a football field.

The works are ephemeral.  Soon the grass begins to grow back and the weather begins to change the picture.  Eventually the picture disappears altogether, so check them out while you can.

So the next time you see a particularly nice piece of graffiti on the metro train, rather than scorn it as defacement, consider whether it might be an early work of a budding artistic genius.  Drink in whatever creativity or innovation that you find there, and think of how you could create a gigantic impression in your work by thinking outside the canvas or outside the computer.

Tags: Sherwin-Williams, bio-degradable, renewable, Saype, Switzerland, painting