Mural Themes, They Pick You! Part 1

A New Year and a New Blog Post....Finally!!!

Since I posted last, I took on a huge mural project at my place of employment, which I will post on in more detail at a later date. I also became a Grampa for the first time and then survived the annual holiday madness. I started this post on mural themes a while back and then got swept away by life, so let's get to it.

This blogs is on Mural themes and how they seem to pick the artist at times? In the past 11 years or so, I have painted several solo murals and attended about 12 Letterhead Walldog events. As far as the murals I've painted myself, the themes are usually selected by they client. Of course there is always the project that is somewhat loosely defined and those tend to allow for some creative theme ideas.

As far as the Walldog events, they can be all over the place, as far as themes and art development goes. I have attended events where most of the art was done ahead of the event by the host and or the local planning committee. Other events send out a packet of research information for each mural and allow the corresponding Project Leader to develop his own original art concept.

What does baffles me sometimes on this topic, is how the host of a large mural event can pick the perfect mural theme for each Project Leader! This has happened at a few of the events that I have been a Project Leader on. So let's look at a few themes that have picked me over the years...

First off, I would like to present a couple of murals that I developed for clients of mine over the years. Just for fun I will post a picture of the first solo mural I did back in July of 2000.

On this particular mural I had seen a picture of a Maxfield Parrish painting in an issue of the Smithsonian Magazine. The painting was for the Ferry Seed Co. and Maxfield used his daughter Jean as the life model for this piece. My friends had recently purchased a small farm at the time and it included a very large white barn. Or in my case, a very large wooden canvas! The barn could be seen for a mile or so and It seemed the perfect subject matter for both the family and the location.








A few years after the barn mural, a dear friend called me in regards to painting a mural on her wooden kitchen floor. Her family was doing a major renovation to their old farmhouse and wanted to do something original on one of the old wood floors. The first thing that popped into my mind was a large fruit crate label painted over most of the kitchen floor. I gave her about 50 or 60 thumbnail images of a variety of old fruit crate art. She picked the Kentucky Cardinal label you see below because it matched the colors she had planned to use throughout the rest of the interior of the home.




This Project was also featured in a How to Paint Floor article in Sign Builder Illustrated Magazine.





Next up, I would like to share a few memorable Walldog mural projects that I have been involved with over the years. For an explanation of all things Walldog, please see the following website...

http://thewalldogs.com

The first Walldog project I would like to talk about was the Jacksonville Walldog Extravaganza which took place in late June of 2006 in Jacksonville, IL. I was chosen to be a Project Leader for the Eli Bridge Company mural. The Eli Bridge Company actually didn't build bridges but were celebrating 100 years in business building carnival rides. The Eli Bridge Co. produced the Big Eli ferris wheel and also the well known Scrambler carnival ride.

During this event, I had the privilege of getting a tour of the Eli Bridge Company headquarters a few blocks away from their mural site. It was like stepping back to the 30's just walking into the building. There was one room large enough to set up and test one of their smaller ferris wheels. There was also another area large enough to set up two complete Scrambler rides.

In the middle of Jacksonville there is a Big Eli ferris wheel that operates during the summer months. On my way out of town I stopped by the wheel and explained the mural project that I had just finished. The operator of the ride was impressed enough by my story to offer me a ride and gave me the longest ferris wheel ride I had ever had. What a great way to finish a great week of painting fun.













In August of 2006, my good friend Kurt Gaber hosted the Brush Bash 2 event in Chippewa Falls, WI. I was in the process of relocating to Vermont for a new job and had some extra time on my hands so I offered to help in any way I could.

The mural painting event was centered around creating a memorial for a tragic accident that occurred in October of 2005. A High school Marching Band Bus accident had injured thirty-nine passengers, and killed five others, including the beloved band director, Doug Greenhalgh. In the early morning hours of Sunday, October 16, 2005, the Chi-Hi Marching Cardinals were returning home to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin from a marching band competition in Whitewater, WI.

The center piece of the Memorial square that was dedicated for this event was to depict the history of Chippewa Falls. A visual timeline was to be painted finishing with a Marching band mural honoring those lost in the accident. I was chosen to paint the Marching Band Mural.

I had a great team of painters including my dear friend and incredible portrait artist, Tatiana Zank. Work on this mural was very emotional for my entire team of painters. As we worked, local residents affected one way or another by the accident were most often in tears behind us. It was a challenge to hold back our own tears as we completed this visual memorial....








You can see more of Tatiana's amazing work at... http://www.tatianazank.com/


I have a couple of other themes I would like to share, so I will include those in Part 2 of this post. Until Then, take care...

Mural Painting Equipment

Well, I finally have the energy after the Danville, IL Walldog event to create my next post. To all of the talented Balloon Classic mural painting crew, I owe you a huge THANK YOU! We managed to pull off an incredible amount of work in a few days, and the mural turned out better than I could have expected.

During the Walldog event in Danville, I was also treated to a Hot Air Balloon ride, but I'll talk more about that in a future post. Here is a picture of some of the crew that helped on the Balloon Classic wall.....



In this post, I was hoping to present and explain some of the equipment required to paint a large scale exterior mural. In my last post I mentioned the technique of printing copies of the art on transparencies so they could be used to project on the wall. In order to do this you need a good overhead projector. I use an Apollo 4000 overhead projector.



The projector has the following features:

• Combines elegant boardroom styling with top projection quality
• Features a reflective anti-glare projection stage
• Three element vari-focal lens ensures sharper focus and picture clarity
• Provides 2,000 lumens light output
• Folds to flat position in protective hard shell case for easy travel
• Includes molded handle and internal storage for power cord and transparencies
• Lamp changer prevents delays by instantly positioning a fresh lamp
• Reflective light transmission for superior light output
• EYB replacement lamp

I have used several different types of overhead projectors, but this is the best one I have found...so far!

Next up, you will need something to set the projector on while you project the image onto the wall to be painted. A few years ago I attended a Walldog event where I sketched up an idea for a projector stand and a local welding shop built one for us. They choose to built it out of square steel tubing which worked well but was a bit heavy to carry up a ladder to project off a roof. You never know where you will end up doing murals! Here is a picture of the steel version....



I decided I needed a light weight version of the projector stand, so I re-built it using aluminum tubing with a stainless steel projector platform. The entire stand screws apart at a couple different points, so it breaks down easy and fits into my car if need be. Here it is in the disassembled mode.



Here is the projector stand fully assembled...



Here is the projector and stand set up...



The main tube adjusts up by loosening the two set screws on the lower back side. The black bar sitting on the base, is a counterweight to help keep the stand weighed down and prevent tipping backwards. The four feet on the base adjust up and down which helps level the projector on curved surfaces (streets).

Next up you will need a good collection of brushes (fitches for rough walls) and a case to carry them in. I use a D-Flite polished Aluminum All-Purpose box. Which can be found here... http://www.d-flite.com/index.htm





Next up you will need a bunch of straight edges, levels, halogen lights for night work.......well maybe a list of stuff would help here...



• artists acrylic paints in a selection of colors that corresponds to colors in your preliminary design
• empty containers with lids—coffee cans, cups, etc for mixed colors
• primer (gesso)
• rollers
• roller pads
• extension handles for your rollers
• rags and/or paper towels
• drop cloths
• buckets
• brushes in many sizes
• yardsticks
• masking tape
• painting palettes or trays for mixing colors
• metal scrapers to clean dried paint off palettes
• stir sticks
• wire brushes
• brooms and shovels
• eye protection (goggles)
• ladders
• scaffolding
• paint spraying system
• air compressor
• milk crates or other sturdy boxes to store paint cans
• sun/rain protection system
• A shade tarp that can be rigged to scaffolding with a telescopic adjustable frame.
• sunscreen
• sunglasses
• sunhat,
• bug spray
• work area or table
• solvent disposal/recycle cans & funnel when there's no practical place to dispose of used solvent.
• chalk lines with extra powder
• tape measures
• plumb-bob line
• rolls of saran wrap for temporarily storing/sealing roller covers that might be needed later.
• garbage bags
• recycle bins

Did someone mention spray guns? I have a couple different touch-up guns that I use. One is the el-cheapo deluxe $40 version you find at the local hardware or home builder supply stores....that would be the blue one in the picture. The other is the SATA Centennial edition with gold plating and even a gemstone in the handle. The SATA model is mostly reseved for high-end automotive type finishes. It features a digital air pressure regulator.



And the guns have their own box with more space for non-air brushes....



For the Balloon Classic wall, we needed to reach to the top of the 40 foot high wall, so we used a telescoping boom lift and a scissors lift. I wish I had taken a few more pictures of the lifts in use on the wall but I was a bit busy painting at the time. Here is the boom lift we used and a couple of pics of lifts to get the point across.







So, load it all up and we'll see you at the next Walldog event!

Danville Mural Art - Part 2

In Part 1 of this post, I mentioned several types of art that will be needed to complete the upcoming Balloon Classic mural project in Danville, IL. Let's walk through what I have prepared up to this point.

First off I said we we would need individual color reference prints of each element of the overall design. These will be handed out to each artist who wishes to work on a portion of the mural. Each person can only cover so much ground so it is usually best to keep their focus on one manageable area. In this case I thought perhaps several of the smaller balloons could be worked on at the same time. So, I brought each element into Photoshop and printed each one as large as I could on a letter sized sheet.



I learned from past events that I spent a lot of time digging through a pile of art to find one color copy for a particular element. This time I decided to get a 3 ring binder and put each art element in its own clear plastic sleeve. This way it will be much easier to flip through and find each part of the design and hand it to the assisting artist, as needed. The plastic sleeves will also help keep paint off the color print while the artist works.



Next up, transparencies will be required to project the mural art onto the wall. As I mentioned before, the size of the transparencies is determined by a couple of factors. One is the size of the platen on the projector being used. My projector will accommodate approximately a 10" x 10" transparency sheet. The other factor is how far away or close to the wall the projector can actually be set up. I have attended Walldog events in the past where the wall was so close to a busy street that there was a limit as to how far away from the wall the projector could be set up. In this type of case, it would be best to split the image to be projected into two or more sections that then could be pieced together when projected onto the wall. I decided to print the lower portion of the art at about 10" wide and try to project that in one piece. If I need to be 100 feet away from the wall in order to get the art to fit in the required space, I might not have that much room at the site. The light would also diffuse a great deal at that distance. So, I printed out the same art in two enlarged sections that could be projected in two sections and pieced together on the wall.



In the photo below and above, there are two printed transparencies of the art blown up in sections and one with the entire image on one sheet.





I also need to think about possible "issues" with the art once I get on site. Occasionally, I discover that projecting the image might not work very well and that a pounce pattern might work better. So it is necessary to bring all the art, stored in every possible format, so I can pull it up and hopefully handle the "issues" as they occur...which can be often!



I usually always bring a copy of the art that has the layout grip printed over the image at a certain scale. In this case I scaled the art at 1/2" = 1'- 0". If need be, I could lay out the whole wall using the grid system. Basically, I would snap chalk lines on the wall at full scale (12" squares) and then use the 1/2" art grid to draw each square on the wall. As you can imagine this is probably the slowest methods for getting the art drawn on the wall. I had two scaled versions of the art printed and laminated at the local Kinko's/FedEx store. I will mount the large prints onto foam core and use them as references for the overall mural layout. Visitors to the mural painting site can also look at the large prints to see what is being painted in front of them.





OK, let's do a little inventory so we don't forget anything.

1. 3 ring binder with color reference prints of all art and projector transparencies....Check

2. 2 scaled prints, one clean version and one version with layout grid....check

3. Stretched canvas art to be donated to the events charity auction....check

4. Copies of all art on disc, thumb drive and backed up on laptop....check



Next up we should look into some of the equipment that I will be packing up for this trip. Since this mural demands that a fair amount of time be spent in lifts off the ground, we will need to consider that.....next time!

Danville Mural Art - Part 1

In this post, I would like to talk a bit about getting the art portion of a large mural project put together.

The "Walldog" art prep approach that I am going to describe here is quite different than how one prepares art for a solo mural effort. The Project Leaders at a Walldog event need to have "visual aids" prepared for all the artists who will be helping finish the project. The attending artists could possibly range from the very experienced to the newest beginner. So, it is really helpful to have full-color prints made for each element of the overall design.

It is also important to have various transparencies printed out which will be used to project the design onto the wall. If the wall is quite large, it might be best to divide the art in sections which could then be pieced together on the wall while projecting. The section sizes would be determined by the actual image area of the projector itself and how much distance is available for projecting onto the wall. Common sense says that if you only have 10 feet away from the wall before you run out of space, the projected image would be quite small. I will discuss this further in "part 2".

I think I should point out some decisions that I made while developing the Balloon Classic theme for the Danville, Il Walldog event. One of the biggest decisions I had to make was based on the overall size of the wall! The wall for my Danville Project is 29 ft. wide x 40 ft. tall. I drove down to Danville a while back to have a look at the wall first hand. At first glance I made the decision to not cover the whole wall with a primered background. I decided instead to do a dry-brush, faded sky effect in the background which would visually enhance the large balloons in the sky. Or at least that is the excuse I'm going with!

Fact of the matter is, we only have 4 days to complete the project. Most of this wall is above the height of the average human and will require an articulated lift and or a scissors lift. These lifts only allow for a few painters at one time and usually block other artists access lower down the wall. There is also the fact that not all artists are comfortable with being 40 ft. from terra firma.

I did the art for my project using Adobe's Illustrator and Photoshop Creative Suite software. I laid out the art in Illustrator using a scale factor of 1/2" = 1' - 0". So each half inch of the artwork will translate to one 12" square on the wall. I also laid out the art using different layers in Illustrator. Here is a look at the Layers pallet for this particular design.



Working in Layers allows me to either show or hide each element of the design and also to lock or unlock each element of the design. Think of layers as a stack of clear sheets that each have an element of the design "printed" on them. I will try to explain why this technique was necessary in this particular case.

As I mentioned above, I made the decision early on in the process to do the blended sky approach for the mural. I also needed to present a concept rendering of the art to the committee organizing the event for approval. So, I needed one copy of the art with the partially transparent sky and one with the full sky. I would use the full version for the presentation "maquette" and the transparent version to project with.

I was also asked by the organizers of the event to produce a maquette or print of the design which would be auctioned off at the event. Some Walldog events host an auction to raise money for a charity or in some cases to fund the preservation of the murals.

So, once again....we need a clean full version to submit for approval and to use as a reference for the maquette.



Then we need a faded out version to print transparencies for projecting.



I also used the transparent version to do an overlay in Photoshop of the concept on an actual photo of the wall to be painted. This gives the organizers an idea of what the art will look like once it is painted....Hopefully!



My point with all this "gooney-babble" is that I was able to put the sky and other elements on different layers and make them visible when and if I needed them.

Next decision, what to do for the Art piece that will be donated to the Danville charity auction? I contemplated doing a hand painted scaled down version of the art but decided I just don't have the time to do it justice. At last years Walldog event I did a hand rendered version so I do know the time involved in that process. I could have just had a digital print done of the design and had that framed up? I decided instead to have my design printed on Canvas and then stretch it on a frame so it looks more like an art piece. It seemed the best choice in the time I have available.

So, I ordered a canvas print of the scaled art that I created in Illustrator. I ended up saving a version of the Illustrator art as a PDF file and uploading that to the canvas printing company. After a about a week I received the printed canvas all rolled up in the mail. And they even tossed in the wrinkles for free!



I added a couple of inches to the art to provide enough extra material to be wrapped around the stretcher frame. I then pulled out the trusty old Merle frame clamp!



Cut some wood to the correct length...



Clamped it down...





Then stretched the canvas onto the frame with my shiny new Fredrix canvas pliers.....



Framed and ready to donate...



In Part 2 of the art installment, I will discuss getting the transparencies ready as well as a large format reference prints. I better get busy with that then....

Danville Dog Gone Dandy

What is up with this crazy title?

On August 5th - 8th, 2010 over one hundred and fifty artists will travel to Danville, IL from as far away as New Zealand to take part in the "Danville Dog Gone Dandy - Walldog Event. I will be leading one of 15 mural projects at this event. Instead of a long drawn out explanation of the Walldog phenomenon, I will just direct you to the website if you would like more info....

http://www.thewalldogs.com

I decided to do a few posts in honor of the upcoming mural event in case anyone comes across this blog and has an interest? Since I am in the middle of preparing for this event, I thought I would create a series of posts on what it takes to paint a large scale exterior mural.

Let me try and explain what has happened up to this point. The person or committee who is responsible for organizing the mural event basically does a lot of the up front work. They tour the city or town where the event is going to take place and look at sites that might work for a historically based mural. At the same time the person organizing the event might be thinking of who might be crazy enough to lead one of these projects. Usually the Walldog (Letterhead member) organizing the show, makes suggestions or matches particular artists with the themes being painted. In this case a fella named of Cornbread is working with the good people of Danville to organize this particular event.

Anyhoooo, I'm not sure how I was selected to lead a project, probably drew my name out of a hat? But I am honored to be leading another mural at this Summer's main Walldog event. A while back they sent me site location photos and size of the wall I was to design the art for. My theme ended up being the Danville Balloon Classic hot air balloon event. I was first told that my wall was 65 feet tall and 30 feet wide!!! Then, after closer inspection, the wall was determined to be just 29 feet wide by 40 feet tall!!!! And here I thought it was going to be a big wall???

I took the photos and info they sent me and transformed it into the art below...





So now that I have the art approved, I need to start thinking about what to bring along to complete this rather large painting. First thing that I know I need, no matter what I am doing, is MUSIC! Can't do nothin' without good tunes. About 6 years ago I decided to build a somewhat portable set of speakers for my iPod. I had purchased a set of Altec Lansing 100 watt powered computer speakers for home use and thought they would work well for mural painting on the road also. I went ahead and purchased a second set for the road!

Below is the contraption I came up with...





I actually started out with two old wooden speakers and mounted them together end to end. I then found and old repair case that had a pop-up handle and wheels. I snatched those off the old case and added them to the speaker box. I cut the one end off the wooden box just big enough to house the satellite speakers. The sub woofer ended up going in the other side of the wooden box. The unit is powered by my iPod and includes a remote control for volume adjustment.



I actually have a 60 gig iPod that I usually use with this but it isn't here at the moment.....needed at work. So, I just wheel this out to the mural site, open it up and plug it into the closest outlet. It charges the iPod as it plays and I just grab the remote for volume control and I'm ready to paint!



This box has played in New England.....up yonder in Mazeppa, MN and around the Midwest and Great Lakes. Who knows where we're headed next? Oh yeah, Danville!



Next time I post we will look at some other equipment and tools that need to be packed up for the event. We will also need to go over what art needs to be brought along to accomplish this task.

For know, fare ye well.