Category: Mineral King

From this angle and perspective, it might appear that I am quite far down the wall. That fits under the category of Appearances Are Deceiving.Here you can see the subtle differences in sepia colors. You can also see how much happened today! “Snapshot” #4 is almost finished! The weird part is that the road looks a bit stream-ish, and the stream looks like a blur at the bottom of the scene. That will require some thought.Lots of very satisfying detail work today! 

It looked like showers were likely today, but I bravely commuted down the hill prepared to paint.  It was a beautiful day with intermittent boiling brilliant sunshine and overcast chilly breezes. The sunshine let me really see the details in my photos; the clouds made it possible to see the paint on the wall – a perfect combination!First, I finished this. (maybe. . . I never quite know when I am fnished!) This is on a slant, but I straightened it for this viewing. I added a shadow beneath it. Next, I mixed a new shade of sepia (notice the subtle differences in color from one “snapshot” to another?) and began the 4th “snapshot”. (Remember, the old Mineral King Store is finished on the east end.) Had to finish off the mountains above and do some taping. That weird tan spot on the bottom left will be the recipient of much detail later on. Again, it feels as if no real square footage was covered today, but today’s “snapshot” is about 6’x8′!  (Didn’t want you all to think I am slacking off here!)

Does today’s work look any different from yesterday’s? Finished the porch washroom and added more detail and cleaner edges. Figured out how to use a square to make the angled “postcard” accurate in size and got a little closer to being finished on the Honeymoon Cabin. Painted all day and just recovered old territory. But, it is all improved, so that is forward motion. (You know it is improved since I am willing to show it to you closer than before!)

Doesn’t look like very much in terms of the entire wall, but some square footage was covered today. And look at the sunshine! The day began in thick cold fog, quite a shock from sunny Three Rivers!  

Today my plan was to paint on the scaffolding without moving it until it was time to photograph the day’s work. The plan worked! I just kept going down to a lower shelf until I ended the day on the ladder. Can’t wait until tomorrow because I get to start on the Honeymoon Cabin! This is what Timber Gap looks like when you are standing above it on the non-Empire side. 

On one of the rainy days, Inspector Gadget went to the mural and let me know that the old store and post office needed work. Today it received work, and here are the results.  Because it was sprinkling and threatening rain all day, I worked from the ladder instead of the scaffolding. It is easier to grab my gear and run for cover when I am closer to the ground. Also, if I am working in small patches and it sprinkles on the wet paint, less is ruined or perhaps the ruination is more easily repaired. 

When I paint at home, it is usually in silence and solitude. Sometimes I listen to the radio or to music. Sometimes I talk on the phone, but only if it rings or there are calls that need to be made. Some days the only person I talk to is the UPS driver. Sometimes there are no cars passing by for an hour or two at a stretch.  When I paint in Exeter, there are people stopping by regularly. I may talk to as many as 20 people in one day! The noise is very interesting – diesel pickups, many different delivery drivers, the forklift from the Exeter Sun-Gazette, the train whistle, back-up beepers, the noon siren, the fire station’s outdoor telephone ring, one of the restaurants trundling their garbage to the dumpsters on a cart, and during the week before Valentine’s Day, a refrigerated truck’s compressor. It is a very different experience than quietly painting in oils at home. I hope I am able to return to silence and solitude with contentment!Today White Chief got repaired, and many of the snowless spots had to be snowed on (erased)!I worked my way toward the sidewalk end of the mural, and got a little bored with gray so there is a patch of dark green just because. (it will be trees later)Then, I couldn’t stand it another minute, so I finished the old Mineral King Store & Post Office! Maybe. It was so fun to do detail that I began another “snapshot” (what should I call these things??) at the other end. Both sets of rechargeable camera batteries died, so you don’t get to see this unless you go to the mural in person.  Rain is forecast for next week, so it may be a little while before I get back to “the city”!

(Such creative titles lately) Today I painted mostly without incident (never mind the forehead smash against the scaffolding board tail when I leaned over to lock the wheels). There were lots of nice visitors – some folks from Scotland, Marge and Lou from Three Rivers,  and my dental hygienist were some of the guests today. Jay refilled my paint jars for me because I was too wimpy to get the lids off the paint buckets (my wrists hurt from all that sky yesterday!) and Betsy helped me hang my banner. Each day is full of generous kind helpful acts of encouragement and friendship! (Shall we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya??) The banner looks a little schlocky, but it is (mostly) readable.White Chief is all messed up. This is the area where Keith noticed the projection was beginning to slope downward. We had to do a jump-up and now I am trying to patch the 2 parts together. I couldn’t see the problem until I had lugged IT out of the way and back to its parking place. Suddenly, there was White Chief all distorted. Hmmm, guess I know what I will start with tomorrow.As a small consolation prize for the trouble with White Chief, I fiddled with the detail on the Old Mineral King Store. Detail is so very rewarding to this pencil artist! I could spend a week just perfecting this “little” picture, but have far too much anxiety about the  size foresight to get caught up in that sort of derailment. 

What an incredibly clear and beautiful day! Truly fantastic – February is my favorite month. Too bad it doesn’t have 31 days, and August only 28.  It was not a day of tremendous progress. Betsy helped me figure out that I am slowing myself down by using the photographs to do the first layer of mountain tops. I should be using the photos of the maquettes (model paintings) because they are much simpler than the photos of the mountains.  All the decisions about how many patches of snow have already been made. Duh. I’m the one who made those decisions and already figured out how difficult it is to paint directly from the photos. (Is this fuzzy thinking a result of bashing my head on one of the tail ends of the scaffolding boards on Saturday??)You may not be able to tell, but I removed the halo from Banjo Guy.Because of camera distortion, it appears as if I am over halfway down the wall on the mountain tops. I can assure you that I am not halfway yet – you can see a bit of a seam just beyond where I stopped today – that is half! (see? cameras DO lie!!)