Roger Reiman Mural - Introduction

Mural Painting - The Way of the Walldog Meet 

 

I would like to take you through the entire process for designing and painting a large-scale exterior mural project as it applies to a "Walldog" event. This will require a series of posts, starting with the initial mural project concept selection process, up through the completion of the painted mural.

I have mentioned the Walldog group in previous posts, but will post the link again. If you are interested in more information, you can click on the link below and look around the site. If you are interested in participating in one of these "meets", there is information on future events.

The Walldogs

Over the last 20 years, we have been working with various cities or towns around North America to hold a large Walldog event where 6 to 16 murals are painted over a 4 day period. In 2012 the event was held in Arcola, IL. In 2013 we will be celebrating 20 years of Walldog events with the community of Kewanee, IL.

Subject Matter

One of the first things a community does in the initial stages of planning for a Walldog event is to pick the subject matter for the murals. Usually the subject matter chosen is related to the town's history, town founders, celebrities, historical business, etc. 

The Walldog representative who is organizing the event works closely with local event organizers to pick subject matter that most people in the community can relate to and enjoy seeing displayed on the walls of their town. For obvious reasons, we try to stay away from subject matter that might be considered advertising for present day businesses. The Walldogs want to create works of arts that the community can all celebrate and enjoy over the years.

Project Leaders

 

The Walldog representative hosting the event, is usually the person responsible for choosing the Walldog Artists that will lead each mural project. He or she does their best at matching each Project Leader with a subject matter that the Artist can fully enjoy and perform well on. Some project leaders have many years of experience, and some will be leading their first ever mural project.

Mural Site Selection

The community members who are sponsoring the Walldog event once again work closely with the Walldog representative to choose the best sites for each mural project. Permits and permissions have to be obtained and signed off on before wall prep can begin. Once the mural sites are selected, they have to be prepared to be painted on. Occasionally, the walls may need to be repaired or updated before they are primed and ready to paint. If the selected site walls are not smooth enough for paint, Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) panels are built and attached to the wall or an easel before painting. These panels are attached to an aluminum framework and also need appropriate preparation for the type of topcoat being applied.


Ok, there you have a rather generic outline for the initial steps for a Walldog Mural Project. My next post will describe how I was selected to lead a project for the 2013 "A Hog in Dog Heaven" Walldog event in Kewanee, IL

    

  

Problem=Solution

When I was growing up, my family didn't have a lot of money, so we had to come up with creative and inexpensive solutions. When my dad wanted to build something, he would think about it for a while. Then he would find some paper and a pencil and sketch up a dimensioned drawing of the project.

I saw him do this with something as simple as a birdhouse all the way up to a built-in corner cabinet for our house. With this type of sketch, he could also figure out exactly what materials would be needed for the project build. Using this process, he could think about how to find and or buy the required building materials.

I'm not sure how this influenced my own choices over time, but I do know that I have applied this same process to my ever-evolving design thinking. When I set out to do a new project, I start by drawing a dimensional sketch. Then I look at the most cost effective way to produce what I am planning to build. Once all that is done, I can look at the build versus buy options.

Although I know how to draw up my plans using a pencil and paper, there are much more advanced tools available today. Let me explain the more modern approach to creative problem solving, as it applies to a simple shed project.

Problem= I have too much stuff

Solution= Get rid of stuff

               Increase storage capacity

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am trying to set up a studio workspace in my basement. My wife and I both paint and we also have a lot of supplies and equipment that we use for mural painting.

We want to clear out some of less used equipment and only have so much space in our garage. So, we looked into putting an 8’ x 12’ storage shed in our back yard. We went out and looked at the various kits available at the big home improvement stores.

An 8’ x 12’ storage shed kit with floor costs around $1200. From my research, many of these complete kits come bundled with material that many times are warped or twisted and need to be replaced, thereby increasing cost. All of these kits are made to stay together once built, so if you ever move you have to try and move a large shed or leave it behind and start over at your new place?

So, I decided to do a cost comparison between what the home improvement stores offer and what I could build myself. Just to make it interesting, I thought I would design my shed so that it could be made of bolted together sections that could be disassembled and easily moved on a small trailer. Another advantage of building your own, is the option of picking out the best materials that are available at the building store.

First up…Draw the shed.

I now use a computer program called SolidWorks to “draw” my projects. Solidworks is a high-end 3D solid modeler program that allows me do design full-scale and assign materials to each part. There is an integrated program called PhotoView 360, which allows me to render a realistic image of the finished design.

This program basically works in reverse of the traditional mechanical design process. Instead of doing a scaled orthographic projection (front, side and top views), and then trying to figure out the 3 dimensional structure. I design the 3D part or assembly in SolidWorks and then create drawings from the various part files (if necessary). 

I drew up each part of the shed, full-size and fully dimensioned. Then I added the appropriate materials and appearances to each components. Below are renderings of the shed assembly that were generated using PhotoView 360.

Using this software to design my project allows me to rotate to any angle or view, zoom in, hide or make parts transparent. I can then make the typical orthographic projection drawings from the 3D parts because they are already fully dimensioned. Creating a drawing is all drag and drop once the assembly file is built and saved.

I then created an Excel spreadsheet to determine what the overall cost of this project would be. I haven't added in the cost of the metal roof or hardware yet, but you can get the general idea. I can pick out my own materials (which will be straight) and build this shed for at least $500.00 less than buying a take-what-you-get kit. 

Thanks to my Dad for giving me these problem solving skills. They have been quite valuable over the years. Not to mention, I learn a lot on each of these explorations.

Arcola "Pop the Top" Walldog Event

Each summer a group of creative artists gather to paint several murals in one or two towns in America. The group is called the Walldogs and it is made up of creative artist from around the globe who get together to promote hand painted exterior wall murals. Click link below to learn more...

thewalldogs.com

I wanted to share some photos of the murals we painted at this year's Walldog event in Arcola, IL.

15 murals painted in just 4 days......June 20th - 24th, 2012

Pop the Top Walldog Event, Arcola, IL June 20 - 24, 2012

Well, we are packing up to head down to this Summer's mural event being held in Arcola, Illinois. We will be joining together with approximately 140 of our fellow artists, to paint up another Midwestern town.

Arcola Walldog Facebook Page

 This year there are artists coming from New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, and several from Canada. Arcola has lined up 15 large-scale exterior murals for us to paint during this 4 day event. 

 At this year's event, my wife and I will not be leading a project. instead we will be helping our friends wherever we are needed the most. At last year's event, my wife and I were busy planning our wedding, so we were not able to help paint as much as we like. But this year, we can help as much as possible.

Earlier this year I decided to build a new stereo system for Walldog events. As long as I can remember, I've always loved to listen to music while I work. This of course has carried over to mural painting. So this year I finally pulled out all the stops and decided to build the system I've been thinking about for years. 

If you're not familiar with mural painting or Walldog events, I will explain one of the first steps of the process to try and make more sense of my sound system idea. 

The first night of a Walldog event, is generally set aside to project the art on the wall. We use overhead projectors with the art printed on clear transparencies. Recently, the city hosting the event turns off the street lights in order to make the projected images easier to see. We project and draw the images on to pre-primed white walls. 

 Not sure about you, but when I see a big white wall, my minds starts to tell me to put something on it.

After the projection process, we usually hang around and catch up with old and new friends. I always thought it would be fun to build a surround sound system with an on-board digital projector. I was finally able to find the components to make this idea a reality. So, I spent the last couple of months designing and building my (somewhat portable) audio/video Walldog system. Here is a couple pics of the unit...

 

 

 This contraption of mine includes the following features...

 1000 watt Panansonic Surround Sound Home Theater System (5 speakers, sub, amp)

 The system plays DVD's upscaled to near HD, and includes an FM tuner.

An iPod dock built in with controls that show up either on the 7" LCD screen or on the projected image.

Can be hooked up to an iPad to play audio, video, slideshows, YouTube, and Netflix (when WiFi is available).

 Includes a ViewSonic DLP digital projector mounted on a 4-way swivel base so we can project out the front, sides, or back. The projector unit is also mounted on slides so it can be removed and positioned on top of the system.

3-way video control switch to feed the different video sources.

A digital clock built in with dual temp displays....which includes a remote temp sensor for secondary temp readings. I can hang the remote sensor on (or locate it near our wall) to determine how hot the painting surface is.

Ground effects LED lighting and an LED "night light", both with on and off switches.

There is also a 12 volt cigarette lighter jack for cell phone and USB charging when needed?

 All of this enclosed in a perforated steel structure with 4 Monopod legs and four tripod extension speaker mounts.


So, I will be trying to update the blog from Arcola's event with pictures. This all depends on the access to WiFi in the area. And how late I work into the night.

 Till then....