Mural, Day Ten

It was a little bit overcast on Monday, so I decided to try painting earlier in the day. I wanted to make up for the short days of painting last week when I got sidetracked into gardening and squeezing pomegranates.

It looks pretty good in the sunshine.
This tree needs detail.
Now it has some.
It is time to figure out the background to the left of that tree.
Hey, there are some ferns sprouting.
I stopped for a mini lunch break (both the lunch and the break were miniature), a chance to study the mural and make a mental list of what is needed. While sitting there, I decided that the large tree I just detailed is too heavy at the base.
Meanwhile, I was captivated by the view.
There. The tree now has a more believable shape. I took some off of each side.
I’ve been planting ferns for awhile, so maybe I’ll climb back on the ladder. There is too much sky on the left side of that tree. 
This is better, but not finished.
Whoa – dark already? Definitely cold, and it is hard to paint when one is shivering and can’t see.

My next painting day is Friday, so I’ll show you the progress on Monday, Lord willing, the creek, etc.

Mural, Day Nine

Thursday was a short day. My good friend works at St. Anthony’s, and she is a fabulous gardener. We got caught up inspecting plants, discussing deer repellent and deer resistant plants. We also discussed my juicer, which I lent to her; it is perfect for pomegranates, which she grows. 

Friday was also a short day. I had to dig some plants before I started painting. After I painted for about 1-1/2 hour, my friend came to find me because the juicer wasn’t behaving. I went back to the kitchen with her, and we spent the rest of the afternoon juicing pomegranates.

Friendship can trump work when there is no deadline. 

Where should I begin?
Maybe this tree? (the weird pink line is a mysterious thing that my computer occasionally does to random photos.)
No, I think I’ll do the tree on the far right.
Better.
This big tree was next. I was mixing paint colors when my friend showed up.
When I returned to the mural, it was getting dark, so I just painted a few lines, sort of a map. That way I won’t waste time wondering where to begin when I return to work on Monday.

Mural, Day Eight

The usual – get there, stare, wonder where to begin, take a photo or two, spread out the tarp, wonder how missing 2 afternoons of painting could have so severely impaired my professional confidence.
Think think think (like Winnie the Pooh)
I’ll start here, working on the ladder. It needs more upper greenery, and the medium tree on the right is clearly unfinished. I can paint sequoias. This will get me back in the groove.
Better, but it is missing the natural light filtered through the adjacent oak tree.
This. I can do this while standing on the ground.
Better, but I’m cold and it is getting dark.
Inch inch inch forward.
Everything will look better tomorrow.

Mural, Day Seven

Monday was a short afternoon because the snowy sequoia oil painting needed more time, longer than just the morning. It has a deadline; this mural doesn’t. 

When I began, I decided to work on several smaller trees, to fatten them up, add branches and bark.
The upper greenery is inadequate and unsatisfactory.
Better, more light, more overlap.
WHAT? I just started about 8 minutes ago! This mural is making time fly.

If you scroll back up to the first photo, you can see that the trees are better.

I had to write that so I felt better about a short painting session – there is improvement and progress.

Mural, Day Six

The immediate feeling of “Oh boy, where do I start” comes over me when I approach the mural each day.
After standing there a bit, I decided it needs another tree over on the right.
Yes, good decision
That background isn’t right. Of course it isn’t because it isn’t finished yet.
More branches, please.
Better, still needs more.
Oops, there goes the daylight.
Is this area better? Hope so, because I spent several hours trying to improve it. Can’t tell with the poor photography in low light. 
It’s always nice to end with a sunset. What a beautiful place to work!

Mural, Day Five

First, I photographed the mural to stall while I decided where to begin.

Sky. Sky is a good starting place. Three men brought me a 6′ ladder (how many men does it take to deliver a ladder? Apparently, three!) This made it easier to work on the 8′ ladder, so the 6′ could act as a platform for my things. I also decided to go over the archway with the sky. I can always paint over it if it ends up not looking right. That fact always gives me confidence to dive in when I am unsure.

The background needed something. The original reference photo is sort of misty, foggy, or maybe smoky looking. Smoke is not welcome around here. I’m altering things enough from the photo that I don’t think duplicating the photo’s murky background will work. Enlarging murkiness results in large puzzling areas. Or maybe it doesn’t, but as the Art Empress of Realville, it goes against my grain to put nonspecific patches of unrealistic color in realistic paintings. 

I ran out of daylight.Maybe I’ll come up with a new plan tomorrow. 

Mural, Day Four

There was a storm, it got cold, we had a fire, and Pippin came inside!
The storm stopped the fires and cleared the air. The real blue sky makes my painted blue sky appear pale.

These two areas needed work. The entire mural needed work, but I chose these areas to begin the day’s painting session.

So, I worked on them.

Suddenly it was cold and getting dark. A few days ago, Trail Guy stopped by and asked if I needed anything. I said, “Faster paintbrushes”. I must be having fun, because time flies while I paint this.

What a beautiful place to work!

Mural, Day Three

On Day One, it was hot out. I wore shorts and painted in the shade. On Day Three, I wrapped it up early because of the icy wind that was whipping around, flapping the drop cloth, making my hand shake from the shivers. Weather Whiplash.

The pipe is annoying, so I decided to get that area finished first.
Pipe area is still not quite finished, but I am done with the annoyance of it for now.
By the end of the shivery painting session, I had scooted across to the big tree on the right. At the end of the day, I prefer to work standing or kneeling on the ground instead of on the ladder.
From a distance with a building blocking off the undone parts, you could get the false idea that the mural is finished.
Nosiree Bob.

Who is Bob? Some people say, “. . . and Bob’s your uncle” to mean that something has been accomplished. 

I don’t know who this Bob is, but today Kurt the Mailman stopped by to see the mural. Why does Kurt the Mailman care? He is a fabulous photographer and gave me a disk of his photos a number of years ago, along with his permission and blessing to use any for painting references. This mural is from one of Kurt the Mailman’s photographs! (I’m using quite a bit of artistic license, along with other photos for different details).

Mural, Day Two

Trail Guy stopped by to check on my progress and suggested that I place my bucket under the drip to see how much is coming off that pipe in 24 hours. Well, 20 hours, because I have been working about 4 hours a day. It started sort of hot again in the sun yesterday and by the end of the session, I put my ragged flannel paint rag on. (It’s an old shirt, one that belongs in a rag bag except that I need it.)

I wonder if puffy white clouds would look good on this wall. Those unpainted spaces could become clouds.

More will be revealed as more is covered.

 

 

 

Mural, Day One

This is on the grounds of STYC – seems really fancy for Three Rivers, but in a good way, something in which to have a bit of architectural pride. (There are some other nice buildings in town, but they are not public.)
The wall had enough shade to begin around 1 p.m.; it was sort of hot in the sun on November 2!
What am I painting here??
The dripping pipe kept my bucket full.
I bet you can guess now.
From a distance.
Now it is in shade.
That’s it for Day One.
The light is fading quickly so I left the mural at the stage where it is best viewed from the back of a fast horse (while wearing sunglasses at midnight).
Until next painting session, buh-bye.