Mooney Museum Mural, Day 2

The mural looked like this in the morning. If you ran past it, it looked finished, but it needed detail.

Those middle hills were a bit confounding, so I just hunkered down in the mud to plant an orange grove. Oh-oh, this is going to be S L O W. Some friends stopped by, and I decided to be like Tom Sawyer. If someone had let me paint on a public wall in a park when I was 8, I would have been paralyzed with doubt, but maybe have just gone for it anyway. I told Justin that it didn’t matter what he did, just make some marks to see what it felt like, and I’d paint over anything that turned out weird.

County Parks Director Neil suggested wildflowers, which OF COURSE I should have thought of myself, and OF COURSE I immediately added in.There are poppies, fiddleneck, and mustard. You might have to see them in person to fully appreciate them.

Next, I will finish the details above the grove – a barn, some non-grove-like trees, a couple of wind machines. Then, I’ll move to the panel on the far right.

Stay tuned!

Mural at Mooney Grove

If you grew up around here, you are probably accustomed to hearing about the county park on the south side of Visalia as “Mooney’s Grove”. When I painted a mural to go inside the Tulare County Historical Museum at Mooney Grove about 10 years ago, I learned that I had been saying the name wrong my entire life. 

I began my 4 part mural there this week on this building, listening to yacking Canada geese all day long. (They aren’t as bad as barking dogs in spite of being louder.)

First, the masking tape to protect the borders.

Getting the sky painted quiets the rude Voice of Incompetence and Insecurity in my head.

Next, I located the mountains, following my photos. (Of course I included Alta Peak with the elephant.)

Then, I got confused. Too many photos, too many viewpoints, too many options. So, I took a break to enjoy my surroundings at Mooney Grove, a park set aside for its Valley Oak trees.

The clock chimes every hour. It is pleasant, a nice alternative to the fire whistle in Exeter which almost knocked me off a scaffolding at noon until I learned to climb down and cover my ears at 11:59 each day while painting there.

The hills continued to confound me, so I just started covering things with paint to sort out later. 

Standing back helps me to see what needs to be adjusted.
Eventually I was able to find some hills and figure out the right colors. The wide band of green on the bottom will become an orange grove.

Not bad for one day’s work! So, I went for a walk around the park. When the mural is finished, I’ll show you a collection of photos of this lovely piece of somewhat cultivated nature on the outskirts of Visalia.

Finished Oak Tree Mural

Here are the better photos of the finished Oak Tree Mural, which I am renaming in my mind as Three Birds.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Five

Day Five was a looking and thinking day, figuring out the final finessing of the Oak Tree Mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers.

This is the chapel from the outside. It is one of the most visible buildings when one views St. Anthony’s from other places in Three Rivers.
It was a clear day out the window near the mural.
More outside views, because I am thinking, procrastinating, and letting ideas percolate.
Out the window there’s a woodpecker, probably an Acorn Woodpecker, which is the most common around here.

Get to work, Central California Artist because you have a mural to finish.

This is how it looked when I arrived in the morning. Finish the leaves, fix the awkward spots, add the fun things, a simple list.
Why do we humans always organize things, make things parallel, line things up? This clump of leaves needs to be messed up.
Better.

Hey, what is that up there in the corner of the sunshine?

Not what, but who?

That was so fun I’ll add another, this time a Scrub Jay.

All-righty-then, gotta have a California Quail.

And I hid something in this mural, but you might need to see it in person to find it.

And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Tomorrow I’ll take a photo of the completed project. It doesn’t photograph well in the afternoon light.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Four

Life’s full of surprises. I went to paint on Day Four and found the parking lot full of cars. Hmmm, I wonder if something is happening in my painting area.

Yeppers. Good thing I’m only one mile from St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Three Rivers, because I went back home and did other things that day.

Day Four finally arrived, and here is a series of progressive shots of the oak tree mural.

Here is a list of thoughts and decisions throughout the day:

  1. That’s the wrong color of green on those first leaves – better fix that.
  2. Extension ladder? Nah, I can do this.
  3. Will I ever finish these twigs and does it matter of they’ll be covered with leaves? 
  4. Maybe I can finish in 5 days.
  5. A group of guys came into the chapel to set up for the weekend, and it took hours, nay, HOURS, to get their sound system working. They stopped and prayed for wisdom, and right after that a guy said, “This cable isn’t plugged in here!” 
  6. The sound system made a terrible surprising and deafening noise, as sound systems do; I yelled from around the corner, “You aren’t allowed to do that when I am on the top of a ladder!” 
  7. Maybe I can finish it on Day Five. Maybe it will be quiet in there. 
  8. Even if I finish on Day Five, I’ll have to return to photograph it in the morning because the afternoon light coming through that window erases the entire left edge. 
  9. Maybe I can time Day Six of photography to be there for lunch.
  10. I love lunch at St. Anthony’s.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Three

On Day Three of painting the oak tree mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Three Rivers, I showed up and stared at the mural for awhile.

Which ladder? Keep spreading around the corner? Go as high as possible with the taller ladder? Ask for the extension ladder? Stand on the floor and add leaves from the bottom up?

I decided to keep building up, adding to, and detailing the branches to the left of and over the door as high as the taller ladder would allow. 

Because I was doing the same thing I did on Day Two, it didn’t seem as if I was making any progress. Lots of ladder climbing, and then later, a decision to change the color of green for the leaves. 

I thought this would be a 3 day project and now I know it will be 5-6 days. 

That’s fine. St. Anthony’s Retreat is one of the best places I have ever worked: 1 mile from home, all the staff are friends, perfect conditions, quiet, WiFi, and LUNCH!! (coffee too).

At the end of Day Three, visible progress has been made. Incremental, but still visible. In order to make a believable tree, much staring, evaluating and thinking is required.

You can see how much fuller it is above the door compared to the first photo in this post. You can also see that an extension ladder will be necessary. 

Weird. Afternoon sunlight has erased some of the left side branches in this photo.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Two

Oak Tree Mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers, Day Two.

After studying my photos on the laptop, I saw things to correct from Day One. Why didn’t they show up in person?? 

Most of Day Two was spent on bulking up Day One’s branches and adding twigs. I also put in some trial leaves at the bottom and learned they should be larger, which I fixed and liked. And, I turned the corner.

Painting an Oak Tree Mural

Behind that door is the mural that I painted in October.

Can you catch a glimpse of it?

This is the map to guide me through putting a tree on the wall surrounding the door.

Dark brown, dark gray, light brown, and light gray are probably the only colors needed in the tree. (I’m stalling because putting the first lines down feel Very Important Don’t Mess This Up.)

Now I am committed to continuing.Life’s short – eat dessert first.

Here’s what’s left:

  1. Finish blocking out the tree, including around to the wall on the right side.
  2. Detail all the branches from about the door top upward.
  3. Decide if there are enough branches, and add more if needed.
  4. Add leaves.
  5. Look it over carefully before declaring it finished.

Neighborhood Beautification Project, Part 4

Day Three was a little bit cold in the shade, but cold is better than hot, especially when it comes to painting a mural. Direct sun dries out the palette and the brush, even while it is trying to do its job on a wall. 

I had a mental list of what the mural needed. The lower half wasn’t detailed.

But first, why is that rock floating in the water? That is unacceptable.
Better.
But wait – why is this middle part unfinished? The lower 1/3 will have to wait.

Finally, I began working on my day’s assignment of detailing the lower 1/3. Then, I rediscovered that the oak tree was too high to reach. Fortunately, Trail Guy stopped by to see if I needed anything, so I requested the stepping stool from my studio.

Trail Guy brought the stepping stool so I could reach the oak tree.
Then I walked home for lunch. (Is it still called lunch when it is 2 p.m.?) The air and the light were so perfect that I stopped for a photo at a neighbor’s place.
The bottom third got detailed, after I stopped finding unfinished parts all over.

It got colder in the shade, and suddenly I felt ready to go home. Because there is no deadline, no commute, and no check waiting at the end, I can return to this mural any time I have a better idea.

The light was a little low and a little flat for a good final photo. The morning light is better, but it casts too many shadows. So, the next overcast day, I’ll return in the morning for a more accurate picture.

Mural completed, building dressed up, Three Rivers neighborhood beautification project finished.

Merry Christmas, Alta Acres!

This is my final post of 2019. I’ll be back on January 6, 2020. Happy New Year, Blog Readers!

Neighborhood Beautification Project, Part 3

Because Day 1 of the neighborhood beautification project was packed so full of mural goodness, I split it into 2 posts. So Part 3 is actually only Day 2.

I started the day’s work with both adding and subtracting detail on the upper hills. I’m not fully satisfied yet but it can wait until the mid and lower parts are further along.
Because I am not working on scaffolding or ladders, it is easy to keep backing up and looking at it the way the public will be viewing it most of the time.
White water, a first layer that will need more detailing, and an oak tree on the left which will need more branches and leaves.
The pencil drawing is serving as my guide for most of the placements, textures, and darks and lights (“values” in ArtSpeak). It was a made-up scene in 2001, using many different photos, none of which I can find now.
This is the way it looked at the end of the day.
If you drive past or run fast by it, it looks finished. It’s not.

Here is a list of thoughts about painting this mural:

  • I am quite happy about this mural. It’s been on my list to do for several years while I waited for an idea, an opportunity, and the right attitude.
  • One more day ought to do the trick.
  • I hid something in this mural.
  • Two voices were warring in my head over all the other noises: one said, “What do you think you are doing, you faker?” and the other said, “Keep painting, chickie-babe, you’ll figure it out”.
  • Why are kids so noisy? They are continually crying and yelling. (There is a day care nearby.)
  • The equipment inside this building runs all day long, sounding like a dishwasher or washing machine.
  • The noisiest vehicles in the neighborhood are the ones that drive back and forth, all day.
  • Whole lotta barking dogs around here.
  • People are very encouraging and complimentary.
  • I didn’t post on Instagram or put the mural on the blog while I was working on it, because it is a gift for my neighborhood, not a publicity feat. (I don’t ever do the Facebook*.) It has been fun to just quietly do the thing and let people discover it on their own.

*”The Facebook” is said the same way I say “liberry”, “prolly”, “Mr. Google”, and “Remorial Building”. I’m not as dumb as I sound, in case you were worried. Thank you for your concern.