Category: Murals

Day Seventeen On The Mural

Each day on this mural my energy fades around 12:30 or 1. Sometimes it even weakens just before noon, but I think that is fear of the noon siren/whistle, which can just flatten a person standing in my alley. I’m always grateful when I happen to be standing on the ground with both hands free to slam over my ears when it goes. (Hard to predict, because today my phone said 12:04 when it went.) Today, I was getting acquainted with a man who has had a remarkable life so far, and he talked me through that low-energy time of day (with a momentary pause while we both stood with our hands over our ears.) If you are reading this, CK, thank you! In order to stay productive for the fullest amount of time, I moved to the east end of the wall and sat on the ground to work on that bottom strip under the mural. It wasn’t cool down there, but it was certainly cooler than the higher places or the west end. Good technique – if I were my boss, I’d give me a bonus for such ingenuity! Oh. I am my boss. I’ll have to look into that!

Look! Lois and Markita are at Franklin Lake, and they aren’t even tired! Wait, they haven’t ever been to Mineral King. . . hmmm, how could this be??

Would you believe that the last quarter of the dam inset took the bulk of the day?? I was disgusted with myself for an inability to paint little men correctly. Never mind that they look like miniature blobs in the photo – I am a professional! However, my business is called cabinart, not “Little Man Painter”. You should have seen my astonishing speed and accuracy in rendering the little Mt. Whitney Power Company cabin – perhaps another bonus is in order.

Exeter California murals Mineral King mural

Day Sixteen On The Mural

This is the week I will finish, even if I have to get up at 5 a.m. for 6 days in a row. Momentum, momentum, momentum. Stay outta the way, I have a job to do!! That is not to say that you can’t stop by and say hello or ask a few questions. It just means I probably won’t stop painting while I visit with you, and please don’t take offense. The weather guessers are saying 108 degrees by Wednesday, but they also said 106 last week and it didn’t happen. If I stay in the shade and have cold water, I can do this. (I think I can I think I can I thank I can. . .) This is how the wall looked around 6:35 a.m. today:

This is how the wall looked at 2 p.m. today:

Tomorrow I will finish this old dam photo inset. The weird blurry little people have been enlarged (the better to see them!), and I’m hoping the original photo will still be taped to the wall when I arrive tomorrow. Oops. . . it might be on the ground nearby by then, but it is in a plastic holder so I’m not (very) worried.

Here is what remains:

old dam photo inset
little cabin inset
dam (as it appears today)
growies, ground and rocks below dam
entire strip of wall beneath mural to the ground. This is the way to make it appear as if a visitor is at Franklin Lake instead of at a mural of Franklin Lake (as long as one stays to the left). I can’t figure out a graceful way to end that lower strip, so it has to go the distance. Maybe. More will be revealed.
Flowers by the trail. My plan is to do this in oil paint so they will be pertinear perfect!
Hidden objects! (there is one already, but I’m not telling yet unless you visit me)

Exeter murals Mineral King

Mural subject revisitation

I may have mentioned that there was a teensy bit of trouble while projecting the mural. (My design didn’t fit exactly as planned.) Since I have found myself with a bit more time than planned, it seemed wise to revisit the dam at Franklin Lake for a few more photos to fill in the extra space. (“Research” is the big word that people like to use these days, sort of like using “client” when one means plain ole’ customer.) We approached it from a different direction, and this photo is mostly useless for “research” but it sure is interesting! (see the little upper lake?)

Check out the dam from up here:

Here is one that will certainly be helpful in finishing the mural (hope hope hope):

Finally, here are two photos just because it was all so very beautiful:

Only bummer is that I can’t figure out how to write off 13 miles of walking!

Day Fifteen On The Mural

On the wall, off the wall. Today I painted on the mural but won’t be painting again until the Mural Team says to. This is sort of hard, but I am trying to see the bright side: time to paint in the workshop, draw in the studio, catch up on the computer and maybe even squeeze in a bit of time in Mineral King. The fact that I had planned to have the mural finished by the end of July shouldn’t be a deterrent to finishing other projects – it is the opposite! So, I am happy, so happy. . . today’s theme is Rock On!

Now you can see that the trail reaches the ground. I visited Franklin Lake last week and made a few changes in the rocks on the mural as a result. The visit made me realize that I have taken a few liberties with the trail in relation to the dam. Guess you’ll have to visit the place yourself to verify that! (It’s only 5-1/2 miles – you can do it!)

Day Fourteen On The Mural

yesterday

TODAY!

Okay, I admit I had a little help from a friend.

Watch for an article in the Visalia Times-Delta about the mural by Teresa Douglass. No date of publication as of yet. . . more will be revealed!

Day Thirteen on the Mural

This is the before and after of today’s painting session:

Doesn’t look as if there is a great deal of real estate to be covered here. Looks can fool you! Because each photo was taken from a different vantage point, I keep getting confused as to which level of rocks, individual rocks, trees and shrubs are coming from which photo!

My back sort of hurts from shoving that boulder over. It is a weird shape now, but my photo has it cut off. I’ll work on a more believable redesign tomorrow, along with finishing all that white space and getting the trail to turn to the left.

Exeter California murals Mineral King mural

New and Improved, Brighter and Better

South facing murals fade the fastest. The Exeter Mural Team has this magic stuff that causes the color to return to its original brightness. I was stunned at the brilliance and the renewed contrast in this mural after they juiced it up!

Exeter California murals Mineral King mural

Day Twelve on the Mural

This week I met several mural team members at The Wall to discuss our options in dealing with our mechanical snags. We formulated a plan, and after they do what they have to do, I’ll be back on the wall. While at the wall, I did a bit of sketching because I was there and the only thing worse than getting up at 5 a.m. is wasting it! It is a little risky, because my historical consultants and I aren’t entirely convinced that this is the original Mt. Whitney Power Co. cabin. It appears as such on the Mineral King Preservation Society website. The question is that it also looks like the type of cabin built by Windy Stevens, about whom I do not have adequate information. . . perhaps he wasn’t around when the Mt. Whitney Power Co. was. Perhaps the MWPC used his plans. More will be revealed (if I am diligent AND lucky!)

First I painted it in green. It was wrong, so I repainted it in brown. (Hard to tell the difference in color here!)

Exeter murals Mineral King Mt. Whitney Power Co.

Day Eleven on the Mural

After a very productive week in the studio, I returned to the wall today and was greeted by this sight:

This is Channel 26’s Great Day camera man and reporter Clayton Clark.

Clayton did a fake-out while I was unloading my supplies.

He wore a little thingie in his ear so the folks back in the Fresno studio could communicate with him. He did a little “teaser” every so often, and then interviewed someone every 15 minutes.