Refreshing a Sequoia Mural

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.