Bottle Painting

When I started painting an empty wine bottle back in 2010, I was looking for a long art project that I could go back to whenever I had free time on my hands. And for that to happen, I needed something that would take many many hours. So I chose this intricate and symmetrical damask design. The bottle is a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The design was adapted from this lovely vintage damask fabric by Osborne & Little called Dryden Velvet. I think this design is absolutely stunning, and I wanted to take up the challenge of drawing symmetrically on the glass bottle, which is smooth and round, making painting very hard. The wine label and even the price tag have been kept intact.

I used permanent marker to draw this. Each and every line is a first draft and no other tools or rulers have been used. I often used to take the bottle to Harvard Square Starbucks and painted there. I didn't exactly count how many hours it took me, but I painted on and off, and the whole project has been going on for two and a half years now. Never knew I'd be that patient with anything.

I'll write about the second bottle soon!