Paint Slowly

Two of my neighbors have requested that I paint slowly.  They want to enjoy the process of seeing a mural develop.

With this mural of Sequoia trees on a ridgey door, I don’t have a choice. In my head the thing should be going quickly, but reality is much different.

I climb down the ladder and squint and study. It needs more light here, more detail there. I climb the ladder and then can’t figure out where the light and detail were supposed to go. I climb back down and look again. Hmmm, three ridges down, more light. More detail on the top ridge and on the 4th ridge, crossing down onto the 6th ridge. Climb back up the ladder. Add the light, and forget where the detail was needed. Climb back down, oh yeah, that’s right, climb back up, and now my brushes are all dried out. Climb back down and get them cleaned up a bit in water. Climb back up and wonder what I was supposed to do. Realize the color I need is dried on the palette, Climb down the ladder and pour more on. Squint up at the mural and see another area needs attention. Move the ladder, climb up and try to GET SOMETHING PAINTED!!

Please excuse me for shouting. This should not be so hard.

Okay Bob and Katie, I’m a slow painter for sure.  And Katie, thank you for the blog post idea!

Sequoia Mural on a Ridgey Garage Door

First, I mixed my main paint colors, using the primaries.

That weirdo greenish yellow (or yellowish green) is not a primary, but is an example of a color that is easily mixed using red, blue, yellow and white. Isn’t that UH-MAY-ZING?? Still thrills me. I actually use 2 different reds and 2 different blues.

First, the barest hint of where things will go. This is probably meaningless to you, but I wanted you to see how the process works.

Because I paint from back to front, the sky color goes on first. Very little sky will appear in this mural, but it provided edges for the Sequoia trees. Then I climbed off the ladder and stepped back to see if the beginning marks were the right size and in the right place. (Notice I did things in the proper order – first climbed off the ladder and second, stepped back.)

Now are you getting the idea?

The photo that I’m using partially shows in the bottom of this photo.

These ridges are making it REALLY REALLY hard to paint.

Not having a scaffolding or a platform is also a hindrance to progress. Not complaining; just explaining in advance why this one may take a long time to finish. It will provide some fun for my neighbor Bob when he checks his mail every day. He told me that he hopes I don’t finish it too quickly!

Because moving the ladder is interruptive, my plan is to finish the upper parts first. As a right-hander, I find it easiest to work from left to right. In spite of working from the top down, I found it helpful to locate the bottoms of the trees and lay in the shadows.

The colors I mixed (or remixed or added to from a previous mural) were:

  1. Dark redwood
  2. Medium redwood
  3. Light redwood
  4. Dirt in sun
  5. Dirt in shade
  6. dark green
  7. olive green
  8. sunlit green

To quote Trail Guy, “Boy, those lines sure show up.”

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

No Longer At Loose Ends

Now that the drawings for The Cabins of Wilsonia are finished and the book is in its first review session, I’ve been sort of wandering aimlessly. Organize a little, paint a little, work on the blog a little, procrastinate a little, wonder what to do.

Suddenly I have a big list:

  1. Finish painting the outbuildings
  2. Begin the new mural
  3. Oil paint for a 2015 calendar
  4. Oil paint for Colors, a local gallery
  5. Oil paint to have things to sell during Studio Tour

What’s an artist to do??

Clearly, there is plenty of work to be done yet.

Perhaps I should move these paintings into the house near the stove so they will dry.

Nah. I think I’ll start the mural.

Come back tomorrow to see the progress!

Upcoming and Not Upcoming Murals

Last fall I got a call to visit a place in Visalia and discuss a mural. I was very eager to do this mural because I know and like the business and because the subject was citrus. The ideas were flowing, so I did a couple of sketches and gave them several bids.

(FYI, I generally bid a mural based on size, the same way I price my drawings and paintings. The reason for multiple bids is so they could have me paint it all at once or do it in three sessions, whatever fit best into their budget.)

In December there was a hard freeze. It did big fat damage to the citrus crop and the trees and the farmers and the industry and the business who planned to hire me.

Bummer. No citrus mural for this artist this year.

What’s a California artist to do?

Paint Sequoia trees, that’s what.

I think this will look pretty fantastic on my garages.

Too many areas here for you to know just which one I mean. This door:

Yes, it is all ridgey metal, but I can do this. No sign that says “Parker Group” and sorry, no Brianna either. I’m fairly comfortable with citrus, Mineral King scenery and redwood trees, but little people are beyond my skill at this time.

No time frame, but it would be good to have it finished before the Studio Tour, March 21-23. Of course, if we get lots and lots of rain I won’t be able to paint the mural. That would actually be a better outcome than continued drought with a mural.

But why did I spend all that time and paint turning it dark brown if I planned to paint a mural there?

I didn’t plan it. I planned to have dark brown doors so they wouldn’t show up. Trail Guy suggested the mural, suggested the subject and chose the photo.

Can’t say no to Trail Guy!

An Odd Job

As a California artist based in rural Tulare County, I am willing to do odd jobs. Odd art jobs, that is. (Please don’t call me to wash your windows – they will probably turn out odd.) Staying in the business of art in a place like this means saying, “Yes” when  asked to do odd jobs.

I’ve shown you some of the unusual things I’ve been asked to do in the past. Here are a few links if you want to see some of these items (each will open in a separate tab or window): cabin sign (gotta scroll down the post to see it), chair back slat, ornament (you can read the entire story and see all the photos in December 2011), antique window, pet sign, boat sign, quilt square. There are more, but I fear I will test your patience and you will say TLDR*.

My latest job could sort of be considered a mural, sort of a commission: a faded decal on a recreational vehicle at a mobile home park in Hanford, California.

It was a challenging and fun job. (I consider a job fun when the conditions are good and the job turns out well.)

The most fun part was mixing the colors to match the non-faded sides of the RV.

This side wasn’t faded as badly but the owner requested a touch-up here too.

*Too long, didn’t read

Mural Make-over

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

Nope, that’s not the subject of this blog post. But, sometimes an aunt has to do what she has to do. I’m in awe of my niece, proud of her, and so pleased to be her aunt.

In March of 2012, I painted a mural on the side of the building that was to become Sequoia Outdoor Sports. This is a business that is needed in Three Rivers, where thousands pass through on their way to Sequoia National Park for camping, backpacking, hiking and snow-shoeing.

I thought it turned out well, in spite of the fact that they requested sequoia trees where there are none. I am a hired paintbrush, and it is my job to make the customer happy (even when it causes a slight tic under my left eye).

The mural faded. This is highly disappointing, since I use high-end mural paints that are formulated to be lightfast and very saturated. I work from just the primaries, so I order the blues, yellows and reds with the highest lightfast rating. Apparently, even the magic of chemistry is not enough to compete with the sun on a south-facing wall.

Heehee, this reminds of those horrid photos they take of people right before a makeover. Weird unbrushed hair, no make-up, icky facial expression . . . in this case, it is shadows on the mural. That’s so you can fully appreciate the contrast to the final product.

Okay, now I know people will be slamming on their brakes, chattering excitedly to one another, “Where did that come from? What sort of business it that? We must check it out!”

I agree! You should check out Sequoia Outdoor Sports. It is a classy place, with a tremendous amount of great gear for camping and backpacking and who knows what else – ummm, they do! Why lug your old gear to Sequoia when you can travel without all that stuff, rent the best, turn it in at the end of your trip and not have to clean it up? Hmmmm?

P.S. In the local paper’s annual Best of Kaweah Country, this mural was voted the favorite in Three Rivers! In my humble opinion, it was because it was the newest that year. But, thanks, Three Rivers!!

Want to Paint On A Mural?

A year ago I painted a mural for a store in Three Rivers that had not yet opened. Sequoia Outdoor Sports had a grand vision to supply visitors to the area with the equipment they need for backpacking and camping. It is a great idea, because there are so many folks who fly over here from other places without their gear.

They asked me to paint  a trail scene and include Redwood trees.

 

The store is great, but the mural has already faded.

Today I will touch it up. If you would like to put a few brush strokes on it, stop by!

Phinished, but not Photo’d (or Finished but not Foto’d?)

Move that scaffolding, I’m finished!

The scaffolding was in the way of photographing the completed Oak Tree mural, so until I can stop back by for photos, this is the best I can show you. We kept adding things, and found out that the cover-up paint didn’t exactly match the wall color. That seriously curtailed my sense of “Sure, let’s just try it!”. I’m hoping they will locate the proper paint bucket so I can do a bit of patching.

Miss Oak 2 and Miss Oak 3 are posing here so you get a feel for the size. Baby Pug consented to join them in this helpful exercise.

What is Baby Pug’s name??

Oak Tree Mural, Day 2-1/2

My old house is down there! (not discernible, but still. . .!)

This is the view from where the mural is located. I try not to go outside very often because it makes me miss Lemon Cove, and it makes me forget what I am supposed to be doing!

Could hardly sleep the night before knowing the barn was too small. Mrs. Oak brought that up when I got to her house, confirming my suspicions that she is brilliant. Due to my cautious nature,  I kept increasing the size in small increments, until Mrs. Oak and I were both pleased.

The men had added another railing to the top of the scaffolding, but only on one end because the ceiling was in the way. I was a little apprehensive about climbing up there, but Son #3 demonstrated the route of ascension for me to follow. On the way to the job this a.m. I heard a line in a song “You hear me when I’m calling and you catch me when I’m falling”. . . Whoa. Stop. No thanks. No falling, please!

I was able to stand where the ceiling was tall but had to kneel on the left. It was fun! Now there are 4 main parts remaining: spread the tree to the right over the balcony; add another large branch to fill the hole over the barn; extend the branches over the window to the left (not visible in this photo); add some fence in the middle ground.

Have you ever worked on a scaffolding?

Oak Mural, Day Two

This California artist began the oak tree mural by working on the middle level of the scaffolding. There is a method here: build the trunk and largest branches first, get off the scaffolding and evaluate;

build the trunk down to the ground, look again at the middle branches to see if they are appropriately stout for the distance they have to travel, climb back up and add more thickness, accidentally hit the wall with my wet paintbrush and turn it into another branch, and up and down on the scaffolding.

Eventually decide it is too hard to figure out what to do, stop for lunch. Realize after lunch that maybe working on ground level looks the most inviting.

Paint until you do something stupid (oops, wrong angle on roof of barn, oops, dropped the mixing stick with wet white paint on the tile floor), take some photos and go home to blog.