sequoia mural | Cabin Art

Mural, Day Twelve

The last time I worked on the mural was about 2 weeks ago. Trail Guy stopped by and took this photo. This mural is one of the least social I’ve painted, other than the ones at my house. Now you have proof that I worked on it.

I thought I would be able to finish the mural yesterday. Instead, I held back a little, with the intention of spending time today really studying it, making the little improvements that make me proud to put my name on the mural. I am more motivated to finish things than to perfect them, so this is a matter of professional discipline.

It has been a few weeks since I was at the mural and there are quite a few leaves on the ground. Doesn’t matter – just an observation. This photo was taken with a phone rather than a camera.

I wonder why the camera’s pictures are more dull than the phone.

I stood there a bit, studying the mural, trying to remember what I had planned to do next.

That’s right – too much empty sky.

Over the archway too – too empty.

Better.

This is how it looked at the end of the painting session yesterday. I will study this photo and make some notes to take with me today.

Mural, Day Four

There was a storm, it got cold, we had a fire, and Pippin came inside!

The storm stopped the fires and cleared the air. The real blue sky makes my painted blue sky appear pale.

These two areas needed work. The entire mural needed work, but I chose these areas to begin the day’s painting session.

So, I worked on them.

Suddenly it was cold and getting dark. A few days ago, Trail Guy stopped by and asked if I needed anything. I said, “Faster paintbrushes”. I must be having fun, because time flies while I paint this.

What a beautiful place to work!

sequoia mural Three Rivers mural

Mural, Day Three

On Day One, it was hot out. I wore shorts and painted in the shade. On Day Three, I wrapped it up early because of the icy wind that was whipping around, flapping the drop cloth, making my hand shake from the shivers. Weather Whiplash.

The pipe is annoying, so I decided to get that area finished first.

Pipe area is still not quite finished, but I am done with the annoyance of it for now.

By the end of the shivery painting session, I had scooted across to the big tree on the right. At the end of the day, I prefer to work standing or kneeling on the ground instead of on the ladder.

From a distance with a building blocking off the undone parts, you could get the false idea that the mural is finished.

Who is Bob? Some people say, “. . . and Bob’s your uncle” to mean that something has been accomplished.

I don’t know who this Bob is, but today Kurt the Mailman stopped by to see the mural. Why does Kurt the Mailman care? He is a fabulous photographer and gave me a disk of his photos a number of years ago, along with his permission and blessing to use any for painting references. This mural is from one of Kurt the Mailman’s photographs! (I’m using quite a bit of artistic license, along with other photos for different details).

Sequoia sequoia mural Three Rivers mural

Mooney Museum Mural, Day 6A

This is how Mooney Grove looked on the morning of Day #6. There was a lot of work ahead, so I have divided that day into 2 blog posts – one today, one for Monday.

First I spent some time studying the Sequoia mural to find all the things that weren’t quite good enough. While I was thinking, I peeled the old paint off my palette.

There are many things that are bothering me about these areas, including the close oranges not being bright enough on the first mural.

Below are some of the fixes.

Several folks have said, “I hope that shrub in front of the Sequoias gets removed”. I think it is pretty, especially when the light hits the new reddish growth, which matches the Sequoia trees.

Look – Flat Stanley paid a visit to the mural! (It’s a thing that school kids do that I don’t really understand.) I appreciated the laugh, and they appreciated the tape. The orange grove now has a hidden item.The Big Trees now have a hidden item.

To be continued on Monday. . .

mooney grove mooney grove mural sequoia mural tulare county museum tulare county museum mural

Painting the Sequoias

Sequoias, AKA “big trees”, are something I really love to paint (and draw). On my doors, on canvas, (or on paper.)

I liked the painting on my door so much that I decided to do the same scene on canvas.

First step – draw it vaguely with a paintbrush.

Second step, get the base coat on.

Third step, begin the background and add layers to everything else.

Fourth step, photograph it inside the painting workshop with the sequoia doors open.

Fifth step, photograph it with the other two doors of redwoods.

Seventh step, photograph it while it is drying.

(Sixth step was to finish painting it. Did you think I messed up on counting? Wouldn’t have been the first time!)

oil paintings sequoia mural Sequoia painting

Sequoia Mural Complete

Doesn’t that sound like a terse newspaper heading?

The Sequoia tree mural of a section of the Parker Group on one of my ridgey garage doors is now completed. Maybe. I signed it, but when I live with a piece of art, little corrections ask to be made. So, is it finished?

I spent 18 hours painting this in about 7 different sessions, the longest of which was 4 hours. Of course, I might keep fiddling with it, so there may be more.

If a customer wanted this exact mural on this exact surface and this exact size and I didn’t have to drive more than 1 mile to paint it (definitely rounding up because I drove no where to paint this), I’d charge $700.

I knew you were dying to ask, but there is this weirdness about art prices. . . the old “If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.”

No worries. The truth is what is spoken and written here and no one has any reason for embarrassment when he doesn’t know something. This California artist who paints Sequoia trees just wants to help you.

California Artist mural Sequoia sequoia mural Sequoia painting

Tiny Change

When I am painting a mural, every time I look at it I see things to fix, change or improve. When I live by the mural, this can add up to a lot of looking, fixing, changing and improving.

The change I made was that the sunshine behind the big trees was so light that it looked like snow. I changed the color from Brightly Lit Dirt to Less Brightly Lit Dirt. Hmmm, do you think that is a real paint color? It is in my studio, and shouldn’t be confused with the color Trail Dirt, which I ran out of or perhaps used as a base for Medium Redwood.

Can you tell the difference? Not sure I can either, but we’d certainly know if the light was too bright behind the tree. We are all fairly skilled at noticing what is wrong in the midst of lots of rightness. Think about a perfectly vacuumed floor with an orange peel on it. You’d certainly notice the orange peel before the vacuum tracks! So, that too bright paint was sort of like an orange peel.

Never mind. I might be a little low on sleep or something.

mural sequoia mural

You May Slow Your Horse Down Now

For awhile, I’ve been advising you to view my Sequoia mural from the back of a fast horse, preferably at a distance. I’m beginning to think that it might be okay to slow your horse down now, but distance is still an advantage for best viewing.

Getting better with each session. This is the result of 15 hours up and down a ladder. You’d think I’d be quite fit by now. Have another think. . .

The ridges aren’t quite as visible in this photo.

I have a few decisions to make about this project. . . add a human? Will she be the right height? Will the ridges and my inexperience painting humans make her look like a freak? What shall I do in the hard to figure out spaces behind the big trees? How will I put light on the ground behind the trees without it looking as if there is snow? How will I be sure that the traces of snow at the bases of the trees do look like snow? Does there even need to be snow?

That’s sort of overwhelming. I think I’ll just turn away from the mural and see the view behind me.

mural Sequoia sequoia mural Sequoia painting

More Sequoia Mural on a Ridgey Garage Door

This is the current level of the mural. More accurately, this is the current version that I have to share with you. Perhaps you live in my neighborhood and have driven by between the writing and the posting of this post. Then you, my neighbor, will know that the progress is even more progressive. That will be our little secret, okay Neighbors? 😎 And, you will know that the ridges show up much more distinctly in these photos than in person. Still best viewed from the back of a fast horse at a distance.