mural | Cabin Art

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

This is not ideal for mural painting, particularly in contrast my last experience painting at Mooney Grove on a north-facing wall in February and March.

Realizing that the entire day would have strong hot sunshine on the wall, I determined to finish it in one day instead of the prescribed four. I knew it might possibly take 2 days, but I was focused, locked and loaded, ready to rock and roll, and whatever other cliché you can find.

This will be one day of painting and two days of posting.

First, let me be clear about something: I am Very Thankful to have been chosen to do this job and at the same time, I wished it could have been done at home in my studio with these creatures hanging around. (Pippin is barely visible in the bushes, and Jackson appeared after I took this poor photo).

Alas, sometimes an artist has to go out into the world, kill something, and drag it home to the cave. (Don’t get worked up—it is only a euphemism for doing work away from home.)

Instead, I saw this creature. Mooney Grove is known for its peacock population, although now there are way more Canada geese. Fortunately, they were not in mating season or hanging around my location like the last Mooney Grove mural.

Hello, restroom. I was happy to see some shade. I didn’t know what was coming.

There were domestic geese waiting for me to set up, and very very bold about it. 9 a.m. and it was already hot in the sun.HEY! BUG OFF! Apparently he had a conference to attend, so eventually he waddled away.

Let’s get to work. You guys too.

Farthest thing first – the sky. I didn’t have a colored copy of the painting that I submitted to the committee, so I was trying to recreate the scene using the original photos and a very poor pale copy of the painting.

Now it is in total sun, with the power pole shadow working its way across. I decided to put base coats on each segment, then return for detailing, rather than trying to complete each section as I went.

After applying blocks of color to each section and trying to squish the paint into the holes in the concrete block, I had to figure out how to proceed. The plan of attack: stand in the shade, plan the next move, decide the necessary colors, quickly grab the paints and brushes, sprint to the wall, and slam out the next small segment before running back to the shade to evaluate my work and figure out the next steps.

Watch the shadow of the pole move across. I kept dragging my crates of paint to the shadow as it inched to the right.

I ran out of water, and 2 wonderful park maintenance men brought me 4 bottles!!

I finally realized that I couldn’t hold the palette, brush, and the photo, so I taped it to the wall. Sometimes I don’t want to do that because the tape causes the fresh paint to peel. This paint stopped being “fresh” about 20 minutes after application. The maintenance men eventually brought this sign.

They also gave me permission to cross out the incorrect title. I didn’t bother with the incorrect dates, but I did add an “L” to Colleen MitchelL Veyna’s name.

Just rewriting this makes me almost collapse from the memory of heat. We will continue tomorrow with the rest of the very hot day of painting a mural on a south-facing wall in September at Mooney Grove Park.

New Mural at Mooney Grove Park

About two and a half years ago, I worked on several murals on the outside of the Tulare County Museum at Mooney Grove Park on the south side of Visalia, California. Each day when I finished painting, I walked around that giant park of a zillion trees. As a muralist, I am always aware of blank walls, and I counted 7 concrete block restrooms, all painted white, all with multiple walls screaming for murals.

I photographed several of the buildings, photoshopped some of my paintings onto the plain buildings, then wrote up a proposal to present to a committee that meets 4 times a year. I also wrote a letter and asked to be on the next meeting’s agenda.

Then, The Plague struck. No response to anything I requested, no followup, nothing.

A few months ago, the Arts Consortium invited artists to submit five designs apiece, each proportioned to fit a 4×8′ horizontal mural. Five artists would be selected to paint a mural on a restroom. I submitted 5 ideas, and included my photoshopped versions for their visualizing convenience. (Always make it easy for the customer!)

Eventually, I got a congratulatory email saying my painting of the North Fork had been selected for one of the restrooms. Not my favorite, but I have painted and sold this scene about three times, so it seemed like a good candidate for a juried situation.

Next, I got instructions that all the muralists would be painting their restrooms on the same weekend, from a Friday through a Monday, and would be finished on that Monday, no exceptions, so there.

I looked at the weather, saw that Friday would be 104, contacted the nice man at the Arts Consortium and asked for a postponement or to be fired.

Being reasonable, he agreed that paint dries too fast in those conditions and went to the committee making the decisions.

We were then allowed to pick our own four day block to paint, and I chose September 21-24.

The forms began flying back and forth, along with a visual to remind me which painting had been selected, and a photo of it on “my” restroom wall.

Excuse me??

All-righty-then! So, I will be painting Yokohl Creek, which might indeed be my favorite. (GREEN!!)

Supposed to begin tomorrow, but many of the project details have been fluid, so time will tell. . .

mural Murals tulare county mural

Did Mineral King Need a Paint Job?

Did Mineral King need a paint job?

No, but the Mineral King Room at the Three Rivers Historical Museum did. The blue didn’t match the murals in the room, and the mountaintops weren’t recognizable. (You can see the murals here.)

First, I was determined to mix the right shade of blue using whatever paints I had on hand. Lightfastness isn’t a problem on indoor murals, so I was able to use a can of indoor white paint that came from who knows where, along with my 2 mural paint blues. Mural paints are highly pigmented and that makes them very useful for making my own interior colors.

Second, we taped all the parts that needed protection. (This was not the royal we—I had great help from MKPS Sandi).

Next, I traced the tops of the mountains on the mural showing the peaks surrounding the MIneral King valley. This provided a guide to redraw the peaks to match reality. (This was based on the assumption that I painted the mountains accurately in the mural.)

I drew the mountains on with chalk. (It wasn’t a Mineral King blue either but it matched my painter’s tape.)

Then, I started painting and almost immediately, dripped onto the rust color.

Good thing there is touch-up paint for all the colors involved.

Here is an example of something weird that I have learned about acrylic paints, as opposed to oil paints: they are LIGHTER when they are wet. Doesn’t make sense, but it is true.

That teal color was great with the rust, but just not right for the subject matter. I told the Mineral King Preservation Society that if they are just going to waste the paint, I’ll be happy to take it off their hands. I’m sure I can find a use for it. (Weird how the rust looks like red here, and the white looks like light tan).

Now look at the room so you can see the corrected peaks and the color that matches the murals. (I’ll show a before and after on the 2nd shot for you.)

Before:

After:

The mountains in the Before photo are more dramatic and more proportionally pleasing. However, the mountains in the After photo are realistic rather than stylized, match the murals and give more display space for whatever will be going on the wall.

Tomorrow I will tell you a few thoughts about this job.

commissioned mural custom art Mineral King mural mineral king room mural

Day Two on Indoor Murals

Why does the title say “murals” instead of “mural”? Because there will be more in this location.

I started with the hardest one of the four because there will be new flooring installed in this room next week. So far I haven’t spilled, dripped, or dropped a brush. I am making a conscious effort to be very neat, and so far I haven’t wiped my brushes on my pants once! I decided that an old pair of jeans could become my painting pants, and while I am okay with getting paint on them, I am trying to break the habit of using them as a paint rag.

Here is the progression on Day Two.

I began on the left side, filling in behind the blossoms from Day One because it didn’t have enough depth. Then I painted in a few “strings” toward the middle. If I put in a vertical line as a stem, I can build the blossoms around it.

You can see more blossoms happening toward the middle of the vine here. I had high hopes of finishing it in two days, but hadn’t taken into account the filling in of Day One’s work.

It seemed like a good plan to put background blossoms in first – a bit lighter, a bit bluer in color, and somewhat blurry.

The closer blossoms have darker and lighter colors with more parts, including a bit of greenery. (Yes, I know it is hard to tell in these little dark photos.)

About 6 hours of painting straight is my limit. Much longer and my work starts getting sloppy. (Might even accidentally clean my brush on my pants.) So, I got off the ladder and put dirt and grass at the base of the vine. This way, if the Customers decide to move the bed, the vine won’t just drift off into Quitsville.

I wonder if I will be able to finish this on Day Three. As I move out to the right side, there will be fewer blossoms, with the heaviest concentration in the middle. More will be revealed in the fullness of time. You will probably learn about this some time next week.

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Mural, Day Twelve

The last time I worked on the mural was about 2 weeks ago. Trail Guy stopped by and took this photo. This mural is one of the least social I’ve painted, other than the ones at my house. Now you have proof that I worked on it.

I thought I would be able to finish the mural yesterday. Instead, I held back a little, with the intention of spending time today really studying it, making the little improvements that make me proud to put my name on the mural. I am more motivated to finish things than to perfect them, so this is a matter of professional discipline.

It has been a few weeks since I was at the mural and there are quite a few leaves on the ground. Doesn’t matter – just an observation. This photo was taken with a phone rather than a camera.

I wonder why the camera’s pictures are more dull than the phone.

I stood there a bit, studying the mural, trying to remember what I had planned to do next.

That’s right – too much empty sky.

Over the archway too – too empty.

Better.

This is how it looked at the end of the painting session yesterday. I will study this photo and make some notes to take with me today.

mural sequoia mural Three Rivers mural

New Mural Begins Today

This wall is at the Santa Teresita Youth Center at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers. Instead of showing you what I plan to paint, I will simply show you each day’s progress.

My plan is to paint 3 afternoons a week – afternoons because I have to wait for shade to reach the wall, and 3 because I have standing appointments on 2 of the 5 week days. I could work on Saturdays too, but there might be gatherings at “STYC” (that’s how I’ll abbreviate it in future posts) and I try to not work on weekends unless the customer has a deadline (or I am fighting weather deadlines).

Let’s roll!

mural Three Rivers mural

Refreshing the Mural, Day 4

At the end of Day 3 on the South Fork fire station in Three Rivers, I left thinking “oh, them barren heels.”

Excuse me??

When I was a kid, a couple of Mom’s Alabama cousins stopped by to visit us on their first trip to California. One of them kept saying, “Them barren heels!” Translation: compared to the hills of Alabama, our hills looked bare to her.

On Day 4, I fixed them barren heels.

Let’s have a little review:

The yellow faded, leaving everything that used to be green now in varying shades of blue.

Refreshed in 2020, this time using a yellow paint that is more lightfast.

Next, I’ll need to stop by in the afternoon light to take a better photo of the mural.

Thank you for following along as I turned the faded tank mural back into one that makes drivers on South Fork Road smile.

mural Three Rivers

Refresh

in 2009 I painted a mural on the water tank at the South Fork fire station. This is Tulare County Station 14 in Three Rivers.

I mixed the colors using red, yellow and blue, plus white. About 2 years ago, the mural company stopped recommending that particular yellow for outdoor use.

See why?

The yellow faded, turning everything that used to be green into varying shades of blue.

This is lighter, but I’ll have to try more areas first to know how things need to be.

Couldn’t resist trying that brilliant spring green. It really emphasizes the fadedness. (I know that isn’t a word, but I can’t think of the right one.)

I just started slapping various greens on in a somewhat random fashion so that I could compare the darknesses.

Now there is more to work with, so I can start making adjustments.

The blue ridge behind the farthest green needs to be a bit darker, but first I’ll finish the greens.

There – see the darker blue now? Colors are supposed to fade as they recede into the distance. That is part of what helps us know what we are seeing.

When the sun shines directly on a mural, the paint dries too quickly on my palette and in my brushes and I can’t do my best work. So, this shall be continued. The grasses and flowers will take quite a bit of time, and the lake might need another coat. Then I’ll probably start drawing with my paintbrush, making up ridiculously detailed areas because that is the most fun part to me.

mural Three Rivers Three Rivers mural

Finished and Finished

The green looks a bit uneven because it is wet. Those tiny white letters were challenging, nay, CHALLENGING!

The two sided A-frame mural (sign? what is this thing?) needed a few touch-ups.

In case you are wondering, yes, I can name all the flowers. They are all foothill flowers, not in my wildflower book Wildflowers of Mineral King: Common Names.

Other than getting the quail as close to reality as possible, this side was just lots of scribbling in brownish yellows and yellowish browns.

Now what am I going to work on??

commission oil painting mural oil painting

Unacceptable Ugliness

While walking in my Three Rivers neighborhood one morning, I saw this bit of ugliness and got an idea. The neighbor, who has graciously allowed the water board to put this booster pump on his property, agreed with my idea.