Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. I messed up by posting something not about veterans. When I realized it, I painted a flag on the door to my painting studio.
What veterans have done is incomprehensible to me in its sacrificial capacity. I am in awe of their bravery, adventuresome spirit, discipline, devotion, patriotism and unselfishness. Even those who had no choice became all those things.
Remember this mural?
Now, there will be a hidden object painted in this mural, visible Saturday, May 11, 2013.
No clues. You are on your own to find it.
It does not appear in this photograph. You need to go there in person.
I apologize to those of you who do not live near by. However, you can have a little fun any time you are in Three Rivers, checking the mural to find what is hidden and where it is.
These are good prizes, so we are making you work a little. You have to get yourself to Three Rivers and LOOK and go into the store. 41891 Sierra Drive, 561-1190, open 9-4:30.
Have fun! 😎
As a California artist based in rural Tulare County, I am willing to do odd jobs. Odd art jobs, that is. (Please don’t call me to wash your windows – they will probably turn out odd.) Staying in the business of art in a place like this means saying, “Yes” when asked to do odd jobs.
I’ve shown you some of the unusual things I’ve been asked to do in the past. Here are a few links if you want to see some of these items (each will open in a separate tab or window): cabin sign (gotta scroll down the post to see it), chair back slat, ornament (you can read the entire story and see all the photos in December 2011), antique window, pet sign, boat sign, quilt square. There are more, but I fear I will test your patience and you will say TLDR*.
My latest job could sort of be considered a mural, sort of a commission: a faded decal on a recreational vehicle at a mobile home park in Hanford, California.
It was a challenging and fun job. (I consider a job fun when the conditions are good and the job turns out well.)
The most fun part was mixing the colors to match the non-faded sides of the RV.
This side wasn’t faded as badly but the owner requested a touch-up here too.
Nope, that’s not the subject of this blog post. But, sometimes an aunt has to do what she has to do. I’m in awe of my niece, proud of her, and so pleased to be her aunt.
In March of 2012, I painted a mural on the side of the building that was to become Sequoia Outdoor Sports. This is a business that is needed in Three Rivers, where thousands pass through on their way to Sequoia National Park for camping, backpacking, hiking and snow-shoeing.
I thought it turned out well, in spite of the fact that they requested sequoia trees where there are none. I am a hired paintbrush, and it is my job to make the customer happy (even when it causes a slight tic under my left eye).
The mural faded. This is highly disappointing, since I use high-end mural paints that are formulated to be lightfast and very saturated. I work from just the primaries, so I order the blues, yellows and reds with the highest lightfast rating. Apparently, even the magic of chemistry is not enough to compete with the sun on a south-facing wall.
Heehee, this reminds of those horrid photos they take of people right before a makeover. Weird unbrushed hair, no make-up, icky facial expression . . . in this case, it is shadows on the mural. That’s so you can fully appreciate the contrast to the final product.
Okay, now I know people will be slamming on their brakes, chattering excitedly to one another, “Where did that come from? What sort of business it that? We must check it out!”
I agree! You should check out Sequoia Outdoor Sports. It is a classy place, with a tremendous amount of great gear for camping and backpacking and who knows what else – ummm, they do! Why lug your old gear to Sequoia when you can travel without all that stuff, rent the best, turn it in at the end of your trip and not have to clean it up? Hmmmm?
P.S. In the local paper’s annual Best of Kaweah Country, this mural was voted the favorite in Three Rivers! In my humble opinion, it was because it was the newest that year. But, thanks, Three Rivers!!
A year ago I painted a mural for a store in Three Rivers that had not yet opened. Sequoia Outdoor Sports had a grand vision to supply visitors to the area with the equipment they need for backpacking and camping. It is a great idea, because there are so many folks who fly over here from other places without their gear.
They asked me to paint a trail scene and include Redwood trees.
The store is great, but the mural has already faded.
While I was painting the bear at the Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers, several things came to mind.
1. There is always more to a job than first meets the eye. In this case, it was the scraping of peeling paint that I didn’t anticipate.
2. Whoa! Who knew that painting on a roof would cause one’s shoes to get all sticky with tar??
3. What a nice place to work – the staff was hard-working and friendly, both to one another and to me. Eric, the maintenance guy wouldn’t leave until I was safely off the roof. Ruth offered me cold water. Nice thoughtful people!
4. You can see the place is maintained and cutened up like crazy! (I KNOW it isn’t a word, but find me a better one, ‘k?)
5. I love views from rooves. (I know that isn’t a word either – can’t seem to help myself today.)
6. I sure get to live and work in a grand place! (that is Three Rivers, Tulare County, California, in case Mr. Google is listening to this conversation.)
7. Commissions are certainly full of variety and challenge. There isn’t a single thing about my job that is boring except for the bookkeeping.
The repainting job at Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers went very smoothly. What an amazingly helpful and friendly staff! And it wasn’t a hot day – maybe mid 80s at the highest? In addition, it was only 1/2 mile from home, so when I needed a different color of paint, it was easy!
Once I was eye level with the bear, it was obvious he was faded and peeling.
After scraping off the loose parts, I mixed up the color of the shadow tree and painted it. I also touched up the lighter paint around the tree.
The owner allowed me to choose my own colors. I made this guy a cinnamon bear, and put a teal coat on him. Why? I like the two colors together, and teal is my favorite color. Then I stood back and made a decision to change the candle.
I remember little pink candles from somewhere in my foggy distant past. The final touch was all the black outlines. Since this was initially designed and painted by a former Disney artist, it had to have black outlines for the cartoon effect. (I couldn’t resist adding a bit of shading to the coat and hat tail – my bent toward realism almost always sneaks through.)
Do you remember pink candles from somewhere? Let me know so I’ll learn if I just made this up!
Monday a.m. (that’s today) you can find me up on the roof at Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers refreshing a mural of sorts on an old sign.
It’s complicated to explain, so let’s let the photo do the work.
This is formerly a neon sign that was visible from way down the road. Now the trees have grown, and very few of us in Three Rivers had any idea it was here at all. (Not much neon in town!) I remember when this was called the “Mountaire Motel” and occasionally my family of origin would join Aunt Mary and Uncle Ritchie in the coffee shop for Sunday lunch. Now the coffee shop is the lobby.
The owner was an art major in college and his appreciation for art is evident. The place is charming with many styles of art, all containing bears and/or some sort of conifer tree.
I don’t get to begin working until 9 a.m. because guests on vacation don’t like to have artists walking around on their heads.
Ever had anyone walk on your head while on vacation? Tell me about it here!
Move that scaffolding, I’m finished!
The scaffolding was in the way of photographing the completed Oak Tree mural, so until I can stop back by for photos, this is the best I can show you. We kept adding things, and found out that the cover-up paint didn’t exactly match the wall color. That seriously curtailed my sense of “Sure, let’s just try it!”. I’m hoping they will locate the proper paint bucket so I can do a bit of patching.
Miss Oak 2 and Miss Oak 3 are posing here so you get a feel for the size. Baby Pug consented to join them in this helpful exercise.
What is Baby Pug’s name??
My old house is down there! (not discernible, but still. . .!)
This is the view from where the mural is located. I try not to go outside very often because it makes me miss Lemon Cove, and it makes me forget what I am supposed to be doing!
Could hardly sleep the night before knowing the barn was too small. Mrs. Oak brought that up when I got to her house, confirming my suspicions that she is brilliant. Due to my cautious nature, I kept increasing the size in small increments, until Mrs. Oak and I were both pleased.
The men had added another railing to the top of the scaffolding, but only on one end because the ceiling was in the way. I was a little apprehensive about climbing up there, but Son #3 demonstrated the route of ascension for me to follow. On the way to the job this a.m. I heard a line in a song “You hear me when I’m calling and you catch me when I’m falling”. . . Whoa. Stop. No thanks. No falling, please!
I was able to stand where the ceiling was tall but had to kneel on the left. It was fun! Now there are 4 main parts remaining: spread the tree to the right over the balcony; add another large branch to fill the hole over the barn; extend the branches over the window to the left (not visible in this photo); add some fence in the middle ground.
Have you ever worked on a scaffolding?