Sequoia Mural Completed

(Happy Birthday, Younger Sister!)

Here is Three Rivers’ latest mural on the building that is to soon house Sequoia Outdoor Sports. Right now I am thinking YIPPEE SKIPPEE! I usually really like my murals when I see the photos at the end of the day. If not, I go back and paint some more. If I can’t find anything else to do, then I decide that the mural is finished.

As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 15, 2012, this Sequoia mural is completed.

I know, close the car door. Better yet, move the car! (Is it immature to like your car even when it is a ’96 Accord with many miles, scratches and a few rattles?)

On Monday, I will show you the oil painting from which this Sequoia mural was painted. Sort of. It inspired this mural. I will study the photos of it over the (hopefully rainy) weekend and decide if anything can be improved. It isn’t as if I can get into my Accord and leave the scene – Nope, I live in this town. and I want this to be the best possible. (Don’t worry, I felt the same about the Exeter murals even though I’ve never lived there.)

Sequoia Mural

(I wanted to call this Big Trees, Little Mural, but the word Sequoia is more likely to be found by Mr. Google. Is Mr. Google the new version of “the Man”??)

This white panel is about 6 feet wide and 7 feet high and it is READY to be painted!

This is the entire gonna-be-a-business, called Sequoia Outdoor Sports in Three Rivers. (Not my car – I drive Honda Accords. Now on #4 (since 1981) Love ’em!)

Here is the whole building, including the Yoga studio on the right side. (I know, shut the car door!)

Here it is with the Chevron station so you really know where it is in Three Rivers! And look at that fabulous tree – it dropped lots of nice little twigs that were just perfect for stirring paint.

First I taped the edges so it will have a nice white frame. Then I drew it. Pretty sketchy drawing!

Back to front coincides with top to bottom. What am I painting? It is based on an oil painting that the owner of Sequoia Outdoor Sports really liked. He asked that I substitute Sequoia trees for the red firs. That threw me into a mess of confusion because there are no redwoods in Mineral King. But, I’m not painting Mineral King, I’m painting an illusion, a summary, a feeling, a sense of being on a trail in Sequoia National Park.

End of the day – staring to look okay, but still best viewed from the back of a fast horse. I will refrain from showing you the closer view. Tomorrow the detail will take place and THEN I will show it to you, along with the oil painting that inspired it.

Self-interviewing again

Whatcha working on now?

I just finished bidding on 2 murals.

Where??

In my studio.

No, where will the murals be?

The bid that was accepted will result in a beautiful trail scene on the side of a new business in Three Rivers. They hope to open in March, so I could be painting in February.

Will you show the progress on your blog?

Of course!

You said “murals”.

Yeppers, I did! The other will be at a private residence, if the folks accept my bid.

How’s it going with that Adobe InDesign 30 day trial?

Holy guacamole, that is one complicated piece of work. I’ve watched many tutorials, some of them several times. I’m learning, and have a few pages laid out. Plus, I have a very long list of questions that I hope get answered soon!

Anything else going on?

Oh I’m so glad you asked! A winery just asked me for a pencil drawing to use as a label. Would you like to see the first sketch?

Hey, I’m the one asking questions here!

Forgive me. I got confused. How about if we just show that sketch and then go away until tomorrow!

First mural, revisited

Back when I decided to begin muralizing, I started by painting Farewell Gap in oils and increasing the size each time. After I completed a 24×36″, it was time to paint it on my workshop doors. This was the first time I painted large and it shocked me how quickly it went. Michael stood back and helped me with the shape and scale of the peaks. Louise stood down the driveway and coached me on the water. This is how it looked in April 2008.

The colors faded, and I paint better now. Besides, the Three Rivers  Studio Tour is coming in March 2012, so it is time to repaint.

Now, I can see that the poppy door is faded too. Is this going to be like painting the Golden Gate Bridge?

Indoor Mural, Day 3

But Wait! There’s More! At the bottom of the staircase mural of Giant Sequoias is an open area with 6 doors leading off of it. Now, each of those 6 doors has its own identity!

Behind Door #1 is the library. Over Door #1 is dogwood, carolinus florida, or, as it is known in Three Rivers, “Karl Opitz’s tree”.

Door #2 leads into the workout room; feel happy and inspired to sweat by viewing these Bigelow Sneezeweeds.

Door #3 is a closet, and those blurry blue-ish flowers are bush lupine.

Door #4 leads to the Crew’s Quarters, and it is graced by Redbud.

Door #5 leads to the Captain’s Quarters, a room for crafts with California poppies providing inspiration.

Door #6 is the under-the-stairs closet and those are (happy sigh, love these little ones) Baby Blue Eyes.

Indoor Mural, Day 2

This California artist has completed Phase One of her indoor mural of Giant Sequoias/Redwoods/Big Trees for some exceptional people of fine taste. They have a particular fondness for these trees, and sell fabulous chairs made from some of the fallen ones (from private land – don’t gitchur knickers in a twist!). You can find them on eBay: Redwood Adirondack Chairs.

One more thing about this mural – it comes with a promise to retouch it if a grandchild goes nutso with a crayon or marker!

An Indoor Mural of Giant Sequoias

This week I began painting a mural of Giant Sequoias in the lower story of a house in Three Rivers. As I painted, it occurred to me that there are a number of advantages to indoor murals.

  1. The light stays constant (this particular wall has no light from the outdoors).
  2. The sun will not fade the mural.
  3. The paint does not dry in my palette from sun and wind.
  4. My skin is not aging from the sun while I paint.
  5. I don’t have to keep changing my layers – too hot, too cold, too hot, too cold.
  6. There is no wind to blow over an umbrella or steal my photos.
  7. Nobody stops by to ask if I am the artist.

Wow, much more of this and I will begin making excuses for not doing outdoor murals!

In the morning, the wall looked like this:

When I stopped for lunch (a quick snack – takes too long to eat!), it looked like this:

At the end of the day, it looked like this:

Five Items On A California Artist’s Brain

  1. Thank a Veteran today. (Thank you Bob J. and Happy Birthday, I can’t believe you will be 80!)
  2. Thank you, Laurie, for pointing out the booboo in the link under See My Work. Now, if you click on Exeter Murals, it takes you to a YouTube video about Exeter, including a talking chin. (weird view of me, good story of Exeter)
  3. Remember the show in Visalia today and tomorrow. See the entry on November 8 for the details.
  4. These paintings might be dry enough to bring to the show. If they are, they will be more detailed than in this photo.
  5. R.I.P. Bugsy, 1994-2011. I’m sorry for the time I folded you up in your bed like a taco and poured you into your kennel (but you had tried to take my hand off on a previous attempt.) I won’t miss your yipping, but you were awfully cute when you came over to my house to find your missing people. And your ears flapped in the most adorable way when you ran!

Third and Final Day

Isn’t that amazing??? I am amazed, stunned, and sort of relieved because it is so hot on that wall in the mornings.

This morning when I arrived at the wall, this was facing me:

Looked like a long day of crawling around on the ground. Bye-bye, little Lift friend. No more getting high for me on this job!

Mural painting involves relationships. Thank you, Betsy, for the step-ladder. Thank you, Larry & Dora for the loan of the ladder. Thank you Sylvia for that fantastic Dr Pepper, my first in 2 years, tasted like heaven. This little heart rock is for you:

It’s not perfect, but they never are in nature. Always fun to discover – hope you have fun finding it on this wall!

And thank you to Paula for the visit while I waited for the shade to cover the wall. (Found your home page – it will be a very thorough website when it is completed and just as lovely as your store!)

And thank you to Rocky Hill Ice Cream for being there while I waited for shade.

And this is for Rachelle:

I know, I know, just show us the finished painting!

The end.

Second Day

First, some observations about mural painting. This is a long one – might want to grab a snack first.

  1. Technology is very helpful. Today I studied some photos on my laptop, enlarged them vastly to really see what the lines in the juniper were actually doing. Cappella Coffee House is next door to the mural and has wi-fi, which enabled me to email some photos to another artist who needed to borrow them. And, my cell phone sort of works so I can take calls while painting (not as dangerous as taking calls while driving.) Plus, of course, my digital camera records all sorts of things to share with you all. Wow, all this from a self-proclaimed techno-avoider. . . !
  2. There will be discomfort while painting a mural. It could be heat, cold, bugs or wind.
  3. There will be deadlines – lift rental, hot weather on the way,  or an upcoming event. The pressure can either motivate an artist or freak her out.
  4. There will be hassles – the lift might not work or the scaffolding might not roll or the cell phone company might be having a bad day.
  5. There will be lots and lots of interaction with people – the mural team will offer encouragement and help, other artists will stop by to see how things are progressing, tour groups will come by, individuals will greet the artist as they pass to and from their cars and places of business, there will be occasional folks just touring the murals who have lots of questions. These are great marketing and public relations opportunities for Exeter, the mural project and my art business!
  6. I will spill paint on the ground, the lift and my clothing. Can’t be helped. Paint wants to be distributed – it is its nature.

Today it seemed like a good idea to take the lift to the very tippy-top of its capabilities. That’s 19′ in the air. It was fun! Now look at the rooftops, Rocky Hill and the rest:

Look at my shadow DOWN on the roof of the building I am painting!

And here is what got completed today after I finished goofing off with the equipment:

See how well it carries over from the other mural?

2-3 days left, that’s all! To be continued. . .