Richmond artist Tiana Kaczor is in the home stretch.
After more than two months of painstakingly painting her seven-foot, custom-made fiberglass Asian warrior, dubbed Wu Chang, she is happy to report that she will be done by mid-April.
"I'm very detail oriented and because there is a lot of features and so many nooks and crannies and bumps, it's taken longer than I thought," she said. "It's more difficult than I expected because it's not easy to paint on something three-dimensional."
Sponsored by the City of Richmond, her completed sculpture will stand outside the Richmond Cultural Centre on the east side of the plaza by the flowering trees.
The Richmond art teacher was chosen as one of 27 Lower Mainland artists to take part in the B.C. Lions Society for Children with Disabilities and Easter Seals' Terracotta Warriors Public Art Project, a fundraiser benefiting children with disabilities.
"Wu is nearly completed and I've been given until after Easter to finish him," said Kaczor, adding she's been busy tutoring and teaching art at the Richmond Art Centre.
Going with her original idea of using patterns from Chinese fabrics dating more than 2,000 years of history - to about the turn of the last century - Kaczor has found the project to be "artistically challenging, but extremely rewarding."
"I chose more than 30 patterns, male, female and armour," said the 41-year-old artist. "It's like a collage with paint. He's very colourful and filled with intricate patterns."
Wu Chang is pushing her artistic boundaries.
"Throughout the process I've asked myself, 'How do I paint this and how do I do that design?'" she quipped.
Wu Chang will be unveiled and on display outside the Richmond Cultural Centre from mid-April to October 2012. Other Richmond artists include Jeanette Jarville and Herman Zheng.
For more information about the B.C. Lions Society Terracotta Warriors or to download a map of where each warrior will be displayed, visit www.terracottawarriors.ca. Kaczor has been blogging her progress on her website at www.tianakaczor.com.
