Today I painted. It is quiet here except for the raucous birds and an occasional weedeater. Cars don’t pass by too often, and I was really pleased to see the FedEx driver so there was human interaction! This is so different from painting the mural, not bad, just different. See what I finished?
CONGRATULATIONS. . .
to Adalaide, who won the contest! Today during drawing lessons, she wheedled and begged and tried her best to manipulate me into giving her a clue or two. All I would tell her is that there are 12 items, and assure her that she can trust me to keep secrets! When she left her class, she and her mom drove to the mural. Within 15 minutes she called me and told me eleven items. I was very impressed and said the last one would be impossible. 1 minute later she was back on the phone to tell me the twelfth item! The girl is brilliant, simply brilliant! I should have known that Adalaide would find all twelve, because she is a real go-getter at drawing, a self-starter who has figured out how to design and draw a collage on her own, often completes difficult drawings on her own at home, and works exclusively from her own very unique photos! Way to go, Adalaide! (home-schoolers are amazing people!) Here are five of the twelve items that she found: 
She called this one a “basket”, but it is a fishing creel.
The bear and the deer were “gimme” items. Adalaide referred to the lantern as an oil lamp, but it is a kerosene lantern. Those little boo-boos were not a problem – by her description I knew that she was looking at hidden items! Now you know what some of them look like, but they still might be a chore to find. Have fun!
A contest!
As I paint the mural, almost everyone who is familiar with Exeter’s murals asks me the same question: “Will there be any hidden objects in your mural?” The answer is YES, and here is what I’m going to do about it: the first person to tell me what all 12 items are (YES, T-W-E-L-V-E!) will receive a $20 gift certificate to The Mural Gallery. I am aware that this is limits the competition to those who can actually go see the mural with their own eyes. Despite popular opinion in the cities, there ARE advantages to living in Tulare County! For those of you who think you have a head start, here is a hint: the following photo is no longer accurate or true because it was just too obvious.
Mural, Day Fifty-two.
Notice anything different about the title? It is significant, meaningful, symbolic. Today Betsy and I sat together and studied the mural, quarter by quarter. I filled 4 pages of little things to fix. They were easy. It involved moving the truck back into position, which would have been difficult if Larry hadn’t acted as my ground crew and rearview mirror! (THANKS, LARRY!) I did them all, including mixing a color to match the bricks so the weird white patches could be covered! Here is the final finale:
This part wasn’t all that easy – a paintbrush is NOT a pencil. I signed once, blotted it all out, chose my remaining brand new brush, and signed again. After viewing all the murals in Exeter, I chose to not include my website (it appears if one googles my name), nor my phone # (I’m in the book), nor the copyright (it is owned by Exeter, A Festival of Arts), nor the year (it will be on the title plaque). There was a moment of hesitation – should I write cabinart beneath my signature?? Nope, I only do that on pencil drawings and this is a painting. Less is better than more – so just my name, the whole name and nothing but the name, so help me God. He did, believe me, He did!! Amen.
Mural, Day Fifty-one
The Garden Party. . .
. . . is sold out! If you are one of the lucky ones to have a ticket to this very enjoyable event, you will not be sorry. The Garden Parties I’ve been to in the past have been wonderful – nice evening outside in Exeter (no mosquitos there!), good food, great auction items, nice music, fun conversations, all around very pleasant evening.This will be auctioned off. I will probably have my hands over my ears, or perhaps my thumb will be in mouth.
It is an 8×10 oil painting on wrapped canvas with no frame. The title is Honeymoon Cabin III or perhaps Honeymoon Cabin IV. The money will go Exeter, A Festival of Arts. This is the only place I give artwork!
Mural, Day Fifty
Another day of many many visitors. I am now dragging my brush because I don’t really want it to be over yet! I “helped” Dora with her computer for awhile (yeah, right) and spent some time just staring and adding a thing or two and dinking a bit here and there. Mr. Stroben and his wife came by. He offered a few suggestions, which I greatly appreciated. Tom D. came by and wanted to offer some last minute suggestions. I forced a brush into his hand and will show you his contribution to the mural! Mike M. came by to visit, and I was moaning about my stupid brushes and irritating acrylic paint that will not behave like pencils. He handed me 2 very tiny brushes that he happened to have with him! Isn’t that a hoot?! LJ came by and helped me understand the contours of the mountains underneath the plain white patches of snow so that I can add some depth to them. Shane stopped by and a learned a bit of history of Mineral King and the basic differences between the National Park and the National Forest services. Here are the photos from today:
This probably doesn’t look any different to you, but it is new and improved. Part of the improvement was due to the extraordinary skill of emerging artist Tom D. Can you discern which 2 are his squiggles? (the color is terrible in this photo but is nice and green on the mural)
This may not look any different to you either, but I can assure you it too is new and improved (but not lemon scented). You need to see it in person to appreciate the detail. As usual in my art instruction history, Mr. Stroben was right. 😎
Mural, Day Forty-nine
Today was a day of many visitors. The most welcomed one might be LJ, my painting “coach”. We discussed the detail around Sawtooth, so I decided to drive there. (How many of you can say you have driven to Sawtooth??) With her help, I greatly improved the area from Empire to Mineral Peak, sorting out the rocks and ridges, adding shadows, erasing lines that don’t belong, and this is how it looks now:
See how it was back in February??
Mural, Day Forty-eight
Today was fun – lots of detailing, and a few hidden items, which will stay hidden for awhile! There may be a contest. There may be a prize. More will be revealed, both literally and figuratively! Meanwhile, big THANK YOU to Carmen and Caitlyn who picked up trash by the mural today. Caitlyn is 6 and it was her idea. I was thrilled, because trash and weeds were on my list of things to do before the Garden Party on Sunday!
This is Shane, a friend I have made while painting. He appears to be taking my advice seriously that the faster one runs, the better the mural looks! 
Mural, Day Forty-seven
Today I moved the truck out of the way and finished the mural. Maybe. Maybe not. There is paint on the entire wall now, and as the weather allows, I will fix this, improve that, clean up these, add those. More texture, better edges on rocks, fix fix fix. Here, look at the end:
Now the fun begins – all the fine tuning and hiding the objects! People have been asking me about that since I started on February 4, and it will happen!