Mural on a South-Facing Wall in September. . . Part Two

When the mural was this far along, I begin having doubts about the wisdom of trying to complete it in one day. However, I knew the forecast was for even hotter temperatures the next day. It was difficult painting, but with my plan of attack, I decided to persevere to the end.

With shade on the sky, it seemed like a good plan to smooth out those clouds over that lumpy surface. I was in the sun, but at least the paint stayed a bit more moveable and smoothable.

Next, the tree. The upper parts were in shade, so it seemed manageable.

The shadow of the power pole is completely off the wall.

I added blades of grass, some yellow flowers (mustard?)and 3 very small cows. Please, may I be excused now?

 Yeppers: signed it, removed the tape and the drop cloth.

 

There were four other murals planned by other artists all around the park, so I thought I could stagger around to see what had been done. Meanwhile, there was a huge cross-country track meet taking place. I didn’t get a good photo of the crowds of fit young people running past, and I was too beat to wait for a good photo opportunity.

First stop: my murals at the museum on their lovely shaded north-facing wall.

This mural is by Joy Collier. She has worked on it in several three-hour sessions and was quite displeased with the surface of the wall. I agree with her that it would be quite difficult to get a pair of bear eyes looking good with all the lumps and bumps and holes. (I don’t think anyone will criticize these bear eyes.)

It is fun to have a bear in Lion Country.

Mooney Grove Park is so beautiful. The variety and abundance of trees just stuns me every time I walk (stagger) around. They have a TERRIBLE squirrel problem, so I had to watch my step very very carefully.

This one will be a beautifully designed Welcome to Mooney Grove picture in the style of an old fashioned postcard. I met artist Katy Nave Kemalyan earlier in the morning. Later, when I saw her design on the sign with Joy’s bear, I was very impressed with her work.

Colleen Mitchell Veyna and her business partner Kelsey Giles do their painting on some sort of vinyl in the studio and then “wallpaper” it to the wall. Excellent plan in this situation; they have a west-facing wall, like Katy’s. At least they get shade in the mornings! I wonder if there used to be a carousel at Mooney Grove.

The final wall was completely untouched and will be a beautiful poppy scene by Heidi Steinman.

Then I staggered back to my wall to see if it was truly finished. I think yes.

We were paid well, a good thing, because  I stopped for petrol on the way home. I was so stunned that I thought I’d share this photo with you: approximately $6.50 a gallon in Three Rivers.

And thus we conclude another mural at Mooney Grove Park, a jewel in Tulare County.

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 7B

Really it is Day 6B, but there was that careless numbering incident. Let’s not dwell on that. Instead, have a look at the finishing touches for Day 6, my final day on the mural on the Tulare County Museum in Mooney Grove Park, Visalia, California, the county seat of Tulare County, where I was born.

Shut up, Central California Artist, and just show us some pictures.

I painted the inner rim to match the wall color so it would be lighter in there. This scrub jay landed atop the circle. Obnoxious birds, but such a pretty color.

That’s not a real bird!

Okay, it didn’t land. It got painted on.

I signed it in two places. Never had to figure out how to do this before, because this is the first 4 part mural I’ve painted.

Here is the final look. I finished earlier than usual, so the light wasn’t that great for photography.

I’ll miss working here. The people are great, the museum is interesting, and the grounds are beautiful.

Tomorrow I will show you one more interesting thing about these murals. 

Thanks for following my mural project!

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 7A

Not really. It wasn’t Day 7; it was Day 6, but I seem to have trouble counting accurately on occasion. (You may have noticed that the mural saga jumped from Day #3 to Day #5.)

My goal on Day 7 (6) was to finish basket #2, along with some finishing touches to all the other murals.

This is the basket design I chose for the second circle.

This time I painted the inside rim in addition to the circle itself. I learned from the other one that there was no point to making it look as if it was in shadow, because it truly is in shadow, due to the rim.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.

Allll-righty-then! Tomorrow I’ll show you the finishing touches. Stay tuned. 

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 6B

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.)

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 6A

This is how Mooney Grove looked on the morning of Day #6. There was a lot of work ahead, so I have divided that day into 2 blog posts – one today, one for Monday.

First I spent some time studying the Sequoia mural to find all the things that weren’t quite good enough. While I was thinking, I peeled the old paint off my palette.

There are many things that are bothering me about these areas, including the close oranges not being bright enough on the first mural.

Below are some of the fixes.

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.

Look – Flat Stanley paid a visit to the mural! (It’s a thing that school kids do that I don’t really understand.) I appreciated the laugh, and they appreciated the tape. The orange grove now has a hidden item.The Big Trees now have a hidden item.

To be continued on Monday. . .

 

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 5

Day 5 of painting the mural on the Tulare County Museum in Mooney Grove was actually Day #2 on the Giant Sequoia trees.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.

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 2

The mural looked like this in the morning. If you ran past it, it looked finished, but it needed detail.

Those middle hills were a bit confounding, so I just hunkered down in the mud to plant an orange grove. 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.

County Parks Director Neil suggested wildflowers, which OF COURSE I should have thought of myself, and OF COURSE I immediately added in.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.

Stay tuned!

Mural at Mooney Grove

If you grew up around here, you are probably accustomed to hearing about the county park on the south side of Visalia as “Mooney’s Grove”. When I painted a mural to go inside the Tulare County Historical Museum at Mooney Grove about 10 years ago, I learned that I had been saying the name wrong my entire life. 

I began my 4 part mural there this week on this building, listening to yacking Canada geese all day long. (They aren’t as bad as barking dogs in spite of being louder.)

First, the masking tape to protect the borders.

Getting the sky painted quiets the rude Voice of Incompetence and Insecurity in my head.

Next, I located the mountains, following my photos. (Of course I included Alta Peak with the elephant.)

Then, I got confused. Too many photos, too many viewpoints, too many options. So, I took a break to enjoy my surroundings at Mooney Grove, a park set aside for its Valley Oak trees.

The clock chimes every hour. It is pleasant, a nice alternative to the fire whistle in Exeter which almost knocked me off a scaffolding at noon until I learned to climb down and cover my ears at 11:59 each day while painting there.

The hills continued to confound me, so I just started covering things with paint to sort out later. 

Standing back helps me to see what needs to be adjusted.
Eventually I was able to find some hills and figure out the right colors. The wide band of green on the bottom will become an orange grove.

Not bad for one day’s work! So, I went for a walk around the park. When the mural is finished, I’ll show you a collection of photos of this lovely piece of somewhat cultivated nature on the outskirts of Visalia.