mural | Cabin Art

Repainting Mineral King, Day Six

Traffic picked up a bit on Day Six, but still no Larry. Have a look at the day’s visitors:

3 really smart, cute and personable girls on a break from med school in Iowa
An old friend told me he liked the blue better than the green, and he asked me if I am still married. Say what??
Betsy and I pulled a few weeds. She asked me if I would coat the mural after I am finished painting. This is a new step and one that requires some learning.
Mike with his cut hair and his dad
Tim, whose boys I drew in pencil so long ago that I can’t really remember the job other than one of the boys was missing his front teeth. The boys are probably parents by now. . .
A man who travels the entire state of Calif. for his work looking for “wall art” wherever he goes who then posts his findings on Facebook. He said he’d make me famous. I’ll pass on famous, but thanks anyway, Facebook Man.
An entire extended family from Texas and Utah – The patriarch said that Exeter is the biggest mural city in California. I think it might have the most murals, but I’m not sure.
Someone was visiting from Pismo Beach and trying to get a certain number of steps in. I threw off her count by visiting with her for awhile.

Oh – you want to see what I did yesterday?? Why didn’t you say something?? This is how things looked when I arrived. Plenty of painting to be done without moving the Freightliner.

This section of Farewell Gap needs to be detailed and accurate. The photo taped to the wall was supposed to help, but the part I am working from is so tiny that it was too hard to find each time I looked back.

So, I just started spreading green, and also blending into the existing blue-ish rocky areas to it isn’t obvious where old meets new.

This area is going to take awhile.

That’s a lot of blue real estate to be covered. Probably should not have looked ahead. Feels endless.

Stop it!

This area needs a bit more snow.

Thus we conclude another day on the Mineral King mural in Exeter.

Repainting Mineral King, Day Five

Happy Birthday, Laura!!

Repainting Mineral King, Day Five was a wuss-out day. The heat did me in. Sometimes I wonder if my Mom would have been climbing around on the back of a truck in the heat at age 57 . . . no, she was probably climbing a home-made scaffolding while hanging wallpaper. How about Grandma? Naw, she was probably hanging off the top rung of a ladder while painting her house.

The first thing I did was just walk past the mural and study it to figure out where to begin. I don’t want to have to move the truck more than necessary, so I figure out the most efficient way to tackle things. In the process, I realized that I have lost several of the hidden items in the mural, both in my memory (HEY! THERE’S A SECOND COFFEE POT??) and on the wall. This will need to be addressed in another blog post.

I had to pull the truck forward in order to reach this blue section. “Pull it forward”? Makes it sound as if I was tugging on it with a rope.

There was very little visitation or delivery trucks today. 2 nice ladies from Arkansas were admiring the “murial” and together we tried to find the ax that I have misplaced. Did I hide an ax in 2009? I thought I did, but if so, it is hidden very very well indeed.

Hey. There’s a purse.

That’s not a purse, you weirdo. That’s a fishing creel.

What’s a fishing creel?

It’s a wicker purse to put fish in when you catch them.

See? I told you it was a purse!

Hmm, I’m going to have to camouflage that item a bit more.

Next I worked on the ground beneath this snapshot, changing the blue-ish gray to dirt colors, redoing the shadow under the snapshot, and redoing the trees.

See? Better colors. It seems that I have eliminated a few trees. Must have been that missing ax at work.

Time to move the truck again. It needed to go back until I could see the Pinkham cabin out the passenger window. Did this without a GPS too. . . aren’t you impressed with my navigational skills?

Oh my goodness, there’s Farewell Gap already! I’m almost finished with Panel #2 and it is only day #2 on this panel. Guess I am making up for the extra time it took to do all those rocks and grasses on Panel #1 even with Allen’s help.

Holy cow, it was so hot. I decided it was time for a break and looked at my watch – a minute before noon. I ran to the bathroom and cowered in there, then ran the hand dryer fan to make some extra noise to drown out the sound of the noon whistle. When I came out, there it went. Fortunately, both hands were free to clap over my ears. That thing originates from the fire station which is very close to the mural, and it is a powerful sound.

Next, I got out my reference photos to figure out what is supposed to be where, mixed another dark green, finished Panel #2, crossed briefly into Panel #3 and gave up for the day.

Day Six’s high temp is supposed to be 75 instead of today’s 86. I can do 75.

But where was Larry today? I was looking forward to his daily word of wisdom.

Exeter murals Mineral King Mineral King mural mural

Repainting Mineral King, Day 4

Time Change + Heat = Tired

The air temperature was cool, but the wall was actually hot to the touch.

Oh wait! That is Allen, from Friday, the cool overcast day. Doesn’t he look convincing as a skilled muralist?

Let’s have a little review of before and after.

BEFORE: (Notice the correct spelling because I speak English, not Bingo)

AFTER:

This isn’t entirely finished; there will be flowers. They will be like the cherry on top. It was too hot to keep standing there, so I moved after 3 hours of finishing the rocks, dirt and growing clumps of this, that, and the other thing.

There was a tiny bit left to finish on Panel #1, and I was able to cower in a little shade cast by my favorite Freightliner.

What is this??? (Or more accurately, who?)

Two guys working for the City of Exeter stopped by to say hi, and wondered how I paint across the gap between the truck and the wall. I appreciated their concern and curiosity. They appreciated the Disney character.

Panel #2 doesn’t have a lot of green, so I may be able to make up the time that Panel #1 ate up with all of its detail.

Traffic and visitors were down on Monday.

Larry said, ” I get why you have paint on the front of your pants, but how does it get on your butt?”

Only 2 idling trucks – Coors Light and Tapia Bros. Mondays must be slow for deliveries.

Exeter murals Mineral King mural mural

Repainting Mineral King, Day Three

When I arrive each morning, I study the mural and decide the order of business for the day. On Day Three, the first item of business was to hang a banner on the back of the truck. (Thank you, Trail Guy, for the most excellent suggestion!)

The second item was to move the truck out of the way of the lower hill. No, wait! It was to get the truck closer to the wall, with the tires on the curbing. Tricky business. I have to stand up while inching backward in order to see the curb in the mirror. I’m sure I make really funny faces, and I keep climbing in and out to see if the tires are straight. Makes me feel macho to climb in and out of a giant diesel truck. The steering wheel is probably bigger than the tires on my car.

Close enough?

Then I stand on the ground to figure out what needs to be attended to first. The trees waaay up on the side of the hill needed to be un-blued, but I could only reach so high. Then the hidden item, a coffee pot, had to be hidden better. Next, the trees on the right side of the piled up snapshots needed to be regreened.

After that, it was time to move the truck back again so I could tackle the detail on the lower foreground hill.

I started on the left, just scribbling, then refining the scribbles.

It was a very good day painting, in spite of the realization that this foreground hill is throwing off my estimate of 3 days per panel. The entire mural has 4 panels, and my very optimistic estimate is 12 days of painting.

Look at Day Three’s list of things worth remembering:

It was cloudy, not hot, so I was able to paint until 4:30!
I met some people from Linden, Washington, who were full of compliments for Exeter. (Perhaps they haven’t been there in August. . . )
Bob and Elainea stopped by and brought me some sunscreen that resembled curds and whey. We laughed a lot. He is also known as My Favorite Customer, and she is my A Student.
Betsy came by and brought me two chocolate chip cookies.
Stephanie came by without knowing I was going to be there, just showing off Exeter’s murals to a visiting friend. She was one of the leaders on my Israel trip last summer!
The man who built my studio stopped by on his way to get a hair cut. (I almost asked him which hair, but refrained).
Allen stopped by, and I got him to do a little painting. We took photos on his phone so IF he approved of any, he would send one and I would post it. So far, no photos. He always makes me laugh.
Charlie The Fireman stopped by and said, “You missed a spot”. It only took 3 days for someone to say this. (He said that he always gets asked what is the grossest thing he has ever seen.)
I met Stu, a plein air painter from Marin County, here working in Tulare Co. for awhile. His hobby is painting, and he is interesting, kind, and quite good.

Exeter murals Mineral King mural mural

Little Bitty Ore Buckets

Say what? Ore buckets? Little bitty ore buckets?

Remember the first Mineral King Room (in Three Rivers History Museum) mural was of a tram tower below the Empire Mine in Mineral King and only made sense if someone was standing there ‘splaining it?

Now, there are visual aids. In addition to the real ore bucket resting alongside the mural, there are to-scale versions actually on the mural, hanging from the cable.

These are utter perfection, the final touch that makes this mural come alive! Thank you, Nancy B. of the Three Rivers Historical Museum!!

And here are the other 2 murals, in case they were feeling left out.

Mineral King mural mural

Sometimes in Church

Sometimes in church, I draw.
lupe-helen

And sometimes I paint.

First Baptist National Forest

I gave my church snow-covered mountains for Christmas.

Things are a little different in Three Rivers than down the hill.

drawing mural Three Rivers

Stick a Fork in Me, I’m Done

That’s a non-Google kind of title, but the real title is boring. “Mineral King Mural #3 is Finished in Three Rivers Museum”.

First, a little context. Here is mural #1 as it appears in the Mineral King Room of the Three Rivers Museum (Redundant, I know, but I have to say all those words so this post can be found on the World Wide Web.)

Mineral King mural in Three Rivers Museum of Empire Mt. mining area. — Mineral King mural of Empire Mt. mining area in Three Rivers Museum . No miniature ore buckets hanging from the little cable yet. . . will they get made in time for the January 22 opening party of the room?? As always, more will be revealed in the fullness of time. . .

And to our left in the Mineral King Room:

2 more murals in the Mineral King Room of the Three Rivers Museum

The cabinet in front of mural #3 will be sitting lower once it is removed from the dollies. Yes, those rolling platforms are called “dollies” – anyone know why?? The other sort that guys with their names on a patch on their shirts use to push around boxes of things are called “hand trucks”. (One never knows what sort of helpful tidbit one might pick up on this blog.)

And now for a little glimpse into what sort of fiddling and polishing happens at the end of a mural job – here is how the left side looked last week:

Left end of mural #3 before the final details.

Left end of mural #3 after touching up a few details

Louise said that the snow patch on the far end looked like white paint. I agreed, and saw that it had the wrong angle on the bottom. Then I added a spot of rocks in the center. She also said that the trees were too sparse, and of course she was right there too.

These are minor details, but those who know, KNOW. Louise KNOWS. I fully trust her judgement, particularly about Mineral King. She has been a tremendous help to me on every Mineral King mural I have ever painted, and I LOVE working with her on any project. (Remember the book Trail of Promises this year? It came out in July, and is available here and on Amazon.)

No blue tape! Stick a fork in me; I'm done! — No more blue tape. . . Stick a fork in me; I’m done!

Mineral King mural mural Three Rivers

Third Mineral King Mural in Three Rivers Museum

“Third Mineral King Mural in Three Rivers Museum” does not sound like a colorful, clever or creative title, but that’s the truth of the matter.

This is mural #1 in the Mineral King Room of the museum.

Tram tower for ore buckets from Empire mines in Mineral King — Mural of tram tower for ore buckets from Empire mines in Mineral King

Here is mural #2.

Sawtooth mural through window of Mineral King cabin facade.

Finally, here is what you have been waiting for and wondering about: Mural #3!

Step one: determine where it belongs and tape off the edges.

Step two: draw it. Actually, draw, erase, draw, erase, draw, erase, draw.

Step three: start painting with whatever is farthest away.

Step four: keep painting. Paint what matters the most, sort of working from farthest to closest. Get those peaks right so that everything else will line up underneath.

Step five: block out giant patches so there is a sense of progress after all the little fiddly things make me feel as if I’m not getting anywhere.

Step six: recoat the sky, retouch the tops of the peaks, reorganize the photos so it looks as if I am in control.

I think this will be a three day mural. The size is 9 feet by 2 feet. (Bet you can guess which dimension goes with which number. . .)

Mineral King mural 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

Finishing the murals

Did you think I was going to leave you hanging as to how the Tanzania mural looked?

Customer called to say the cape buffalo needed about 1/2 hour of work. I was relieved to hear from him, because my final day working on them was without his expertise. I’ve never seen those animals, except in photos (and there was that one stuffed head staring at the back of my head while I painted).

So, I headed back down the hill one beautiful spring morning.

morning drive

He has a good eye and was very helpful.

Before:

After:

Yes, the differences are subtle, but my goal is customer satisfaction.

Then, Customer looked at me and said, “You left something out of the other mural.”

I said, “Shoot. I was hoping you would forget.”

He just tapped the side of his head. Then he waited for me to tell him what he wanted, so I smiled and said, “Buzzards!”

Using masking tape torn into little pieces, I stuck some buzzards shapes up in the sky. We scooted them around and discussed relative sizes and shapes. Then, I painted them.

As usual, Customer was right:

This photo of the finished Tanzania mural isn’t the best because the morning sun comes through the window and overexposes the one side. However, this photo beats the one with the scaffolding in front, and the slightly wonky buffalo.

Can you pick out the buzzards in the Missouri mural? Tiny, but they add the right finishing touch. This mural keeps amazing me, because the photo was so meh.