"Highland Sentinel"

The sound of rattling paint cans invaded the pastoral landscape of Hopewell, New Jersey this past weekend as S.A.G.E. Collective completed a commission for The Highland Design Farm. Artist/designer Sean Mannix commissioned "Highland Sentinel" after seeing KASSO and LUV 1 working on the "Buddah Barn" just down the road from his converted farm. Formerly a working chicken farm, the buildings have been converted into a collection of artist studio spaces and we were asked to work on the large exterior wall of what was once a two story chicken coup.

Inspired by an old drawing of Sean's and his beautifully machined designs we put together loose plans for an abstracted face amongst a background of gears and wires. The painting took place during the Hopewell Tour Des Arts, a two day open studio tour in and around Hopewell Township. Mother Nature cooperated by providing two amazing days for painting (not a cloud or drop of rain in sight) and once we rescued KASSO from the wilderness on Saturday morning we got to work laying out the wall.

DELVE handled the nose, mouth & chin while KASSO scaled the ladder to lay out the eyes, forehead and abstract designs to the right of the head. LUV 1 went to work on a background of stained glass, abstract shapes & wires while Lank brought large gears from the background to the foreground and filled the deep space with an amalgamation of smaller gears. The two day process was a true collaborative effort, bouncing ideas around and amassing the artwork in a freeform and organic way, resulting in an amazing production.

The visitors to the farm, most having never seen a mural put together quite this way, enjoyed the show and were full of questions that we were happy to answer. Special thanks have to go to Sean and his family for providing unparalleled hospitality and fully supporting our vision for the wall. Check out the photos and enjoy video!

-Lank