Mineral King mural | Cabin Art

New Mineral King Mural Planned

That mural I showed you yesterday served 2 purposes: 1. To dress up the exterior of my studio and 2. To keep me in practice because I felt slightly inadequate to begin the next mural at the Three Rivers History Museum.

This is often how I feel when about to begin a mural. I don’t know how long it takes to confidently approach a wall and just git ‘er dun. I’ve been painting murals for about 9 years now, so one would think I’d have a bit a confidence.

One would be wrong.

This was the first mural in the Mineral King Room at the Three Rivers Museum. — This is the first mural in the Mineral King Room at the Three Rivers Museum.

The tower/tipi thing was one of many that supported a cable which transported buckets of ore down from the mines to the stamp mill. That is an ore bucket on the floor in front of the mural.

The second mural is behind/through/under/which word? that window.

This is the completed cabin facade. The idea is that you are inside a cabin, looking out the window at Sawtooth.

The third mural is in the planning stage.

The cabin facade is on the left, the first mural is on the right (out of the view of the camera). Over this display case there will be a panoramic view of the Mineral King area as seen from Mather Point (near Timber Gap). The size will be 2 feet by 9 feet.

I’m not sure when I will begin. First, we must conquer the inexplicable case of nerves. I think it will help to buy new brushes, and to know that there is wall color paint available should I make a total dog’s breakfast of the thing.

“Just fine, thanks, but why are you asking?” says the Central California artist with a tic under her eye and a twitch in her shoulder.

Mineral King mural

Three Rivers Museum Mural #2, part 2

The new mural in the Mineral King Room of the Three Rivers History Museum took about 5 hours to paint. It is taking 2 days to tell you about it.

I was zipping right along, just slamming this Mineral King mural of Sawtooth out of my brushes like nobody’s business. (Now that’s a quaint phrase – “nobody’s business”? What does this mean?)

Louise stopped by. She is the Mineral King Guru, an accomplished and published author, and a dear friend who has helped me with several of my murals. I said, “Hey Louise, will you look at this while I hold the window in place so we can be sure that I didn’t cover the peak of Sawtooth with the wooden separator of the window?”

Ahem. Houston, we have a problem.

So, I moved the peak of Sawtooth to the left. Seeing double? Yeppers. Two Sawtooths. Wait. Should that be “Sawteeth”?

No problemo. (a little Spanish lingo for you to balance the French lesson yesterday) Let’s fix the sky, shorten the right side of Sawtooth and add some yellow so the whole world isn’t green, gray and blue. (“Let us” – “us” is the royal we. Thank you for your participation – I appreciation the help and enthusiasm.)

In fact, let’s add a tree. Trees are good. This looks green, but it really is red fir.

Museum Man Tom wedged the window into place so we could be sure of everything. I think you need to see this in person to fully appreciate its coolness. The glass makes some obnoxious reflections in the photograph. The camera’s flash washes out the colors too, but I couldn’t hold still enough without it.

In spite of the difficulties, you can see the peak of Sawtooth, and there is a sense that you are looking out of the window because of the space between the window and the mural.

Now, no plastic and no window. It was a little weird to paint with such sloppy edges, but the window frame will cover the roughness.

The apparent darkness at the top of the sky with that stalactite is the shadow from the roof and rafter tail of the “cabin”. The lighter circle in the sky is a mystery, probably related to the way Museum Man Tom moved lights so I could see what I was painting.

Now have a look at the “cabin”. You’ll have to stay tuned or stop by the museum after the window is put in place and secured. I didn’t dare put it in and risk cracking another pane of glass. (No, I didn’t crack the first pane. For once, I wasn’t the Breaker, although I continue to be a loser in the true sense of the word.)

Cabin facade in Mineral King Room of Three Rivers History Museum

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Mineral King mural Three Rivers

Three Rivers Museum Mural #2

Do you remember during the last post about the Three Rivers History Museum Mineral King mural that I advised you to stay tuned?

This week we resume our ongoing saga of Mineral King murals.

A man built a cabin facade (sorry, I don’t know how to make the little comma in the air above the “c” in “facade”. . . in case you are confused, it is a French word, and it is pronounced “fuh-SAWD”. It means fake front.)

Where was I?

In the Mineral King Room of the Three Rivers History Museum at the fake cabin front.

Cabin interior facade in Mineral King Room of Three Rivers History Museum

I bought that window at a garage sale because it is my favorite color and because it is neat-o, but I had no idea of how to use it. It sat in my workshop for 2 years or more, and then it was needed in this “cabin”.

The idea is to feel as if you are inside a cabin, looking at a Mineral King scene through the window.

First, I had to draw it. Wait – first I had to decide what to paint, then I had to put plastic and tape all around so I wouldn’t splatter or spill on the “cabin”.

Can you see it? That’s okay. You don’t have to. I do. I did. See the 2 photos beneath? These were my guides. I had to be careful to place the peak of Sawtooth where it wouldn’t fall behind one of the “bars” of the window. (I can’t remember what that word is, the wooden things that separate the panes of glass.)

Woohoo! This is going fast, and I just know it will be easy.

Fall down laughing. . . I forgot an important principle about painting murals. The smaller they are, the longer they take. “Longer” in relative time. Instead of about 1/2 hour per square foot, it is closer to an hour per square foot. This is because I keep detailing and detailing. I hope I remember this the next time I bid a mural job, and I hope I remember this and PACK A LUNCH!

Trail Guy to the rescue – he has kept me from being a starving artist for 30 years now.

This is too long. I’ll continue tomorrow.

Mineral King mural Three Rivers

New Mural in Three Rivers, Chapter 4

The mural at the Three Rivers History Museum is now finished!

(Yes, the light for photographing the mural is different in the morning than in the afternoon. You are observant about details like that!)

The lower background, the foreground and the trees all needed refining. Louise also noticed that someone climbing the tower would have to make a giant leap to reach the top, so I painted in another step. I added a bit more texture in the shaded parts of Empire Mt. along with 3 wild blue flax. These things are only apparent in person.

Best viewed from a bit of distance, perhaps down the hall as you enter the building. This is easier than viewing it from the back of a fast horse, or perhaps from a speeding car. However, you will miss the 3 wild blue flax if viewing it from down the hall.

Life is a series of decisions, choices and consequences.

There will be more. . . stay tuned.

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Mineral King mural Three Rivers

New Mural in Three Rivers, Chapter 3

The Mineral King mural in Three Rivers is in this building.

This is how the mural looked when I arrived on Day #2. Tower is in place, background sort of finished, trees located.

In the last post I said it is quiet in the museum. Ahem. Not on Day #2! A cabin facade is getting built behind me, and every hammer blow or power tool is amplified in the empty room with a tile floor. It is going to look great, and on the back wall will be a window with a painted view of something Mineral King.

On to the day’s work. . .

Something is wrong with that tower, but I can't see how to fix it in the photo. — Something is wrong with that tower, but I can’t see how to fix it in the photo.

Louise called someone who remembers the tower from when it was still standing. He verified that it had 4 legs. But, we couldn't figure out where the 4th one belonged or how those steps worked. — Louise called someone who remembers the tower from when it was still standing. He verified that it had 4 legs. But, we couldn’t figure out where the 4th one belonged or how those steps worked.

The bright sun came in through the skylight and with my strongest magnifier glasses, I figured it out!

First, I painted out that back let in its wrong position. — First, I painted out that back leg from its wrong position.

Then I painted it in the correct position and added the steps. Much better! It is tricky to paint things I’ve never seen, especially when the photos don’t help.

Now the lower background needs more work, along with the foreground.

Those small trees on the lower left look wrong. The trunks don't belong. They are too complete for their small size. Something is out of whack. — Those small trees on the lower left look wrong. The trunks don’t belong. They are too complete for their small size. Something is out of whack.

After putting growing things in the foreground, I painted off the bottoms of those 2 trees. On Day #3, I will figure this out and finish!

The mural started out sort of easy, but on Day #2 I was just making stuff up without photos to help. That’s not easy at all.

Mineral King mural Three Rivers

New Mural In Three Rivers, Chapter Two

I may have estimated my time to be longer than anticipated for the new mural at the Three Rivers Museum.. Perhaps the customer will think I am over charging. Guess I’d better moan on and on about how difficult this is.

I left you hanging on this cliff yesterday. Moan, moan, this is sooo hard.

Trying to match the terrain and not sure what to do with the lower edges, since I have no photo of a scene that no longer exists. I’ve sketched in the tower and the trunks of a few trees to see if we like the placement and the size.

Let’s have a straight on view so you can appreciate the difficulty of this task.

This is a photo of the top of Empire so I can see the configuration. If you show up in person, I can point to where the tram towers were. And these are my paint colors used so far. Doesn’t this look really difficult??

Just bumbling along. At this stage, it seemed time to add the needles on the red firs. Did you know those were red firs? I bet you thought they were Sequoias. This is why I get paid The Big Bucks. . . I know this stuff.

This is how the mural looked when I left for the day on Monday.

No, THIS is how it looked when I left for the day. I hope it is how it looks when I return next.

All that moaning about difficulty was fake. This might be the easiest location I have ever painted in. Indoors, consistent temperature, consistent light, very few interruptions, no trucks roaring by, and much can be reached without even climbing on the ladders.

Let’s have another look at Samson. He’s waiting for me to get home from work.

Mineral King mural mural Three Rivers

New Mural in Three Rivers

Yesterday I began a new mural in the Three Rivers Museum’s new Mineral King Room. The internet was on vacation, so you get to see the beginnings today.

This is the only photo I have of the Three Rivers Museum. Paul Bunyon doesn’t belong here, except that Carroll Barnes of Three Rivers carved him from a Sequoia.

Paul Bunyon in Three Rivers at the museum.

blank wall — Blank wall in the Mineral King room designed by Gary Cort and built by Pete Crandall.

outline, ready to paint — The first step is to find the edges of the mural and mask it for painting. This is 5 feet wide by 7 feet high.

The sky is the first thing, because I almost always paint what is farthest away first.

How’s this for a sketchy sketch as a guide for the mural? Yeah, I know. It’s sketchy.

wrong gray — I mixed up Purple Mountains Majesty, plus a basic gray. It was the wrong color of gray – not enough contrast to PMM.

better gray — Better gray to complement Purple Mountains Majesty. (Why, yes, I did make up my own paint color name! Thank you for noticing!)

What am I painting? So glad you asked. This is the upper reaches of Empire Mountain, which contains multiple mines. There was a tram with a cable running on towers to carry buckets of ore from the mines down to the stamp mill. I will paint a tram tower in the front. You can see the beginnings of it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, would you like to say hello to Samson?

Mineral King mural Three Rivers

Mural #2, Day Four and a Half

This was a day of tiny little branches, painted while sitting, kneeling and standing on the scaffolding. The most difficult part was not falling into the branching pattern of a Valley Oak. (Did you think I was going to say “not falling off the scaffolding”?)

I had to draw these branches with my brush, which never works as well as a pencil. Lots of climbing up and down to see if the branches were growing correctly.

I adjusted the lightness and darkness of the branches to make them show up against the sky.

Such an unusual tree, the baobab. There are several varieties, but this is what I know about this type: very old, huge thick trunk (up to 36′ in diameter) that immediately narrows, and a flattish top. Sometimes it is called an upside down tree, because when it is leafless, it looks as if its roots are sticking up in the air.

Those cape buffalo. . . sigh. I tried a few new ones, then erased the ones on the left. Mrs. Customer was horrified, because she liked them. She loves buffalo – they are her favorite African animal! (I lean toward zebras, those cute little horses in striped pajamas. . .)

Okay, now we’re cooking with gas. If I can see them, I can paint them. The 2 on the left are looking good!

The end of the day: 4 buffalo completed, 3 to go. That thing on the wall is the photo I used for the last 2 buff. Cape buffalo, an interesting animal, one that kills more hunters than any other animal in the entire African continent. It was killing me until I found legible photos.

Only 1/2 day remaining . . . might as well tell you about it now.

Today’s assignment shouldn’t be all that hard: paint 3 cape buffalo from a photo where the shapes are more discernible.

Umm, does anyone know a good veterinarian? These critters look to be in severe distress.

Okay, this is better. It had better be. If I put any more paint on these creatures, you might be able to carve them.

I added more texture to the ground around the herd. Suddenly it all seemed too hard, and I didn’t think any more brush strokes were going to change the mural. It was time to sign it. Customer was away for the day, so if he calls and wants anything changed or messed with, I’ll return.

Since I was unable to lift the scaffolding over the boulder, this is the best photo I could get. I guess a return trip will be necessary.

I will miss Customer and this beautiful drive.

Mineral King mural

Mineral King Mural Re-do

The book The Cabins of Wilsonia may be in route to Three Rivers. Then again, it may not. Trust has been broken, so I am hearing the messages from the printer and the binder in the same sort of sound as the adult voices on Charlie Brown. Remember those?

Meanwhile, I am occupied with various tasks, all productive. I’d sort of rather sit and knit, or help my friend organize her closet or take a long walk, but the art world marches on, with or without my participation.

A new studio tour is scheduled for March of 2015. By “new”, I mean that different organizers are handing the arrangements. It is called South Valley Artists’ Studio Tour and will include lots of artists from lots of towns. Studio Tour used to be only Three Rivers; now Three Rivers is but a part of it.

The weather is mild, so I have spend some time refreshing the mural on my studio door. Here is the before and the middle. I know it needs more details, but need to wait for clarity and direction. It takes awhile to study one’s own work and see how to improve.

Sunshine is a wonderful thing. Like many wonderful things, too much of a good thing may cease to be so good. Sunshine fades paint, particularly the color yellow. This means greens turn to blue, oranges turn to red, and any brown that has yellow in it (they all do) goes either reddish or purple.

Here is the mural several years ago, a year when the leaves were brilliant in the fall:

Here it is prior to the recent refreshing. It kind of looks the same, so it probably has needed a do-over for a few years.

Here it is with new colors. I left the distant peaks the same so they would look distant. It might be too distant of a look. The rocks might be floating. There might not be enough detail in the foreground. It probably needs more work. And, I realized that I’ve never signed it. Perhaps I haven’t ever felt finished with the thing!

P.S. OF COURSE this is a Mineral King scene. . . were you expecting something else?

Mineral King mural mural

Sequoia Mural Madness

Help. I’m infected with mad mural disease. Can’t stop painting them!

Remember this, the largest mural on the right?

Did you know it is actually doors that open?

They’ve been awaiting a mural for several years now. The photo was chosen, but it never seemed urgent. Now that Studio Tour Ten is almost here, the urgency kicked in.

I began working inside the workshop (AKA painting studio) and got all the shapes blocked in. That way when I painted with the doors opened to the outside, the halves would match up again later. And, this scene looks good when it is split in half.

Here are the opened doors with just the bare bones painted on. During Studio Tour, if the weather is nice, the doors are opened and no one can see the Mineral King mural. This way there is something good to see whether the weather is good or rainy (which is also good).

Mineral King mural mural Three Rivers Studio Tour

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