In 2018 I refreshed a mural in Exeter because the greens had all faded to a blue or bluish gray or even lavender. As I was ordering the paints, the paint company said of the yellow, “We no longer recommend that yellow for outdoor use”.
That explains a lot of fading – the yellow was not lightfast, contrary to its rating. Green is made of blue and yellow, so when the yellow fades, only the blue remains.
My own Sequoia mural at home, painted in 2014, was very faded. It didn’t look awful to the average bear standing at the bottom of our driveway because the values (the darks and lights) were still believable. I like green to actually look green, so it was time to mix new green paints using the truly lightfast new yellow.
When I painted this originally, my neighbor Bob loved to check my progress daily and actually told me to slow down. I miss Bob. One of these ladders used to belong to him.
I stood on the extension ladder and used Bob’s ladder as a platform while I first touched up the blue sky.
Then I started the greens. Pretty strong difference, eh?
This next photo looks awful, but murals aren’t meant to be viewed this closely. I am showing you so you can see the new green on top against the old green on the bottom.
Just the green and the sky has been refreshed, but it looked so good I decided the trees are fine as is.
If you can’t beat ’em. . .
Next, I drew on some guidelines. This was easier than the first time. That’s how practice is supposed to work.
Here is a photo to help you see where basket #2 will go.
The paint colors were already mixed, so I was able to dive in.
But wait, what is this??
Sometimes I like to just have a little fun.
Next, I drew on the guidelines with blue chalk. (They don’t show much in this photo.)
Okay, that’s a long enough break, Central California Artist. Get back to work.
Several folks have said, “I hope that shrub in front of the Sequoias gets removed”. I think it is pretty, especially when the light hits the new reddish growth, which matches the Sequoia trees.
The orange grove now has a hidden item.
The Big Trees now have a hidden item.
I thought I might be able to finish it that day.
Then I thought I couldn’t.
Then I thought maybe I could.
Then I didn’t think it would be possible.
Got it covered, but it needs better detail, some corrections, the usual adjustments.
Nice new awnings over the entry door on the left and the office door on the right.
Clearly, I like this particular view.
For once in my muralizing life, I wasn’t paralyzed by indecision. This felt easy to begin.
There is no pattern to how I move around this wall – just a little here, a little there, maybe I can do this, if I do that it might help me see the proportions more correctly, up the ladder, down the ladder, step back, try this color. No matter what part I work on, the wall is getting covered.
Then I decided to get a bit more systematic, and work left to right.
Then I didn’t want to work from the ladder any more, so I hunkered down in the mud to work on the bases of the trees.
Not bad for a day’s work, eh? What makes this so pleasant and makes all this roaming around the wall in a random method possible is the fact that the wall is north-facing, and I never have to worry about protecting my palette or brush from the direct sun.
Better.
Best.
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.
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.