The first thing I did on Day #6 (after admiring the view, thinking, peeling the old paint off my palette) was to realize that in order to move ahead on the first basket in the circle, it needed a base coat of paint so it could dry so I could draw on it so I could paint the design.
That was an action packed sentence. It was an action-packed day.
Yokuts were known for their baskets, and this museum is known for them too.
I went inside to mix an appropriate and believable main basket color.
Got it – let’s go!
Oh boy. That is one rough surface.
Next, I drew on the guidelines with blue chalk. (They don’t show much in this photo.)
After the base coat of basket color was on, and the lines were drawn, I did all the things I showed you on Day 6A.
Then, it was time to stop for lunch. It is hard to stop, but I’ve found that if I don’t stop for at least 15 minutes, I get confused, indecisive, and a little bit stupid after about 6 hours of painting.
Okay, that’s a long enough break, Central California Artist. Get back to work.
I mixed up a very dark brown and a lighter reddish brown to duplicate the other colors in the basket. Then I just dove in.
On mural painting Day #7, I’ll tighten up the triangles and try to put in a hint of basket coils. A paintbrush is NOT a pencil and acrylic paints are NOT oils. Instead of looking like a basket as I had hoped, it is simply a depiction of a Yokuts basket design.
AND, I hope to mix up a color like the original wall color to paint the inner part of the circle.
The end of Day 6. Stay tuned.
(And if you know my Sandy Eggo sister, wish her a happy birthday today. She doesn’t read my blog, so no need for me to say anything to her here.)
6 Comments
Jana, we have been thoroughly enjoying your whole journey at Mooney Grove. The murals are so great and the Indian basket insets are the crowning touches! Incredible! We look forward to your morning updates and can’t wait to see what you are on to next! We look forward to visiting Mooney Grove the next time we’re in the area!
What a gifted artist you are! Hi to “Trail Guy” also!
Tom and Linda
Aw shucks, thank you, Tom and Linda.
What a great idea to use the round areas to replicate a Yokut bowl? And yes, it looks more like a design than an actual bowl, but so what? I think it looks great!
Sharon, it seemed like such an obvious solution that the museum director and I may have done a happy dance while laughing when we figured this out.
So the little (incandescent) light bulb went off simultaneously over both your heads?!
Mine first, but she was immediately all in!
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