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The Wall
The mural was to be painted on an exterior wall of a home in Monterey, CA. The home is set up off of a very busy avenue.
Cleaned and Prepped
Our friend, the homeowner, washed the wall and painted a light, mural boundary line.
Quick primer test
Using primer as a background color is a nice way to get started. When I'm placing paint onto a stucco wall, although this one is very smooth stucco, I tend to scrub the color in at first, rather than goop it on. I blend a lot with my brush painting.
The basic layout, Kilz2 primers.
A roughed in sky, ocean, and sand dune to begin. Much of my angst is the belly-button of a hole in the dune. Hmm. It will be interesting.
Making gradients
Pulling color, finding colors in between colors to blend from dark to light.
Paints I used:
I decided to use Golden Heavy Body Acrylics above a primer of Kilz2 for this whole project.
Moving a pipe
Frank carefully moved a drainage pipe out of the way so that it would be safe and cozy, underground. Thank you, Frankie!
Makeshift scaffold
For those hard to reach outer spaces. A board between two ladders, nice! And very easy to adjust, too.
The clouds went on and on
When first plotting the clouds, I made a line of little light-blue puffy ones at the horizon line.
Gradients and motion
It's probably hard to see but there are several merging colors (gradients) in the sky and in the ocean. For me, the horizon line needs to look as real as possible. Color can do that. The surf is just beginning to have a shape and some motion.
A scene is building
I've added subtle details in the sky and behind the surf, the sand dunes begin to have contour.
Painting water
First, the surf and suds' lace on the water is bigger than it will be at the end. Its relationship to the sand is still awkward but it helped me with perspective.
Where's the whale?
About now, travelers, neighbors, various other passersby are honking their horns, stopping for visits, several people are asking, "Is there going to be a whale?"
My setup
Each painting day, I readied my basket of paints, sketches, brushes, drop cloths and paint cloths, a bucket for water and pencils with an eraser... I love painting!
The dune
Notice that the hole has been covered up nicely by a screen? Thank you, Frankie!
But what to do about perspective...?
I wanted the viewer to feel like they could walk into the painting. I needed some depth.
But what to do about perspective...?
I wanted the viewer to feel like they could walk into the painting. I needed some depth.
An entry point
This mural isn't even close to being finished. The changes might seem subtle but it's a big brushed painting, everything takes the time it takes.
Friends
I am not sure I would have been able to complete this project without the help of these two expert long-legs. They met me each morning with a haiku and shared great ideas throughout the whole project. They are now charging admission to view the finished mural.
Details
My favorite brushes. Sadly, several lost their shape, fell to pieces, or simply cracked under pressure. I did purchase four new brushes, all for doing detail work on this mural.
Grasses
Believe it or not, no two grass blades in this stand are painted exactly the same color. In nature, though leaves are the same color, light plays with distance to create this same subtle (or not so subtle) depth.
On the ground
There was plenty of sitting room on the ground and lots of plants and creatures to paint.
Pulling it together
At this point, the mural is looking like a painting but there are still a few big changes to make. First, more details...
Brush painting
It might seem silly to paint with such detail but that's the way I like to paint such things. Pretty much every waking moment, I was thinking about plants, shapes, colors, and sizes. I didn't always get the sizes right. These Blue Eyed Grasses are not actually supposed to be that big, but the bunny loved their shade.
Sticky monkey...
I learned a lot about native plants that grow along the coast in Monterey.
That vent!
So, the hole itself was bad, but the more I tried to camouflage the vent, the more it became a thing.
I let it go for a few days as I started painting creatures. That white silhouette will be a White Crowned Sparrow.
I let it go for a few days as I started painting creatures. That white silhouette will be a White Crowned Sparrow.
Sensing balance
There are a multitude of plants that would have enjoyed sitting for this painting but I had to be careful not to overcrowd.
Is this it? No, just the newest.
As Sir Emery once said,
"Sharing old work is like admitting that you've lost your brushes."
Thanks again for visiting!
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