Fewer and Farther Between...

Now that additions and changes being made are smaller, I won't be posting as frequently.  Perhaps you can spot some of the details that I've been working on lately.

Undoubtedly, you noticed the building of shadows on the cauliflower...

And, the development of the vine that runs along the bottom (still more to do there)...

I changed the stems to brown instead of green and have yet to develop the leaves

And the addition of the vines I'd always planned to be coming out from the plowed rows but couldn't be done until the end...

The biggest challenge for me now is finding the motivation to stay focused and finish before moving on to other things I'm tempted to get into.  I have to say, that I'm happy to have this problem.  I'd hear of illustrators being tired of working on a particular project but having to plow ahead to meet a deadline, and I'd always wished I had that problem.  So, here I am...

Vines travelling up the "wave"

Obviously, I want it done, but I've been working on it for about 3 months and I'm rather tired of painting leaves, etc.  Also, I know the site where it is going is not ready yet (the corner of Cook and Main outside of the old Gottschalks) - so I know the mural will be stored for a bit.  I'd like to work on some smaller painting explorations (thanks to my growth in understanding of paint and color from this project).  It's also summer and I'd love to wrap up some of last years school stuff - clean up the study area, plan things for next year (I love doing that).  Still, I'd like it to be done.

In the meantime, I'll continue on while Cinderella waits for the pumpkins to change into coaches.

Entering the Home Stretch...

It's kind of hard to believe, but now that I've put in the trees, I feel like I'm nearing the end.  I still have work to do in each panel, but at this point, it's details, fine tuning, and fairly minor adjustments.  If all goes well, I'd say that I have about a week of additions and "fixings".   I'll have to move the panels around in order to finish some parts - to make sure that the continuity from one panel to the next is accurate. Then, I'd give myself another week of obsessively staring, analyzing, and more fixing.  After that, I guess it will be time to put the protective top varnish on and seal it.

Yesterday, I put in several more trees and shrubs and extended some of the yellow flowers.  I may add a few more in, but probably not much.

I also started to put in the pumpkin stems, although I think I'll switch them to the browner side.  But, as you can see, this panel has really come together!

Them Thar Hills...

Finally got to spend a larger chunk of time on the mural again today.  I've started building up the landscape in the first couple panels, particularly the hills.  As you can see, I started by laying in some yellow to capture the flowers that come around every spring (and have gone at this point).

I'm so glad that I spent the time to work out the tree colors - it soooooo helped.  And, as expected, I'm reworking the hill colors, or at least the brushwork.  I'm using a more textured approach in the areas closer to the viewer.  I still have a lot to do on them thar hills, but I like how it's started.  Some I like, some needs to be adjusted.  Our hills have such variety - many are bare, some have the occassional shrub or tree, while others seem to have a blanket of shrubbery.

Growing the Tree...

Last night was spent working on the study of the tree again.  I think I've worked out the solution to all the green on green - enough contrasts in light/dark, saturation, value... there are such nuances to deal with.  I thought my hills were pretty much done, but now I realize that once I get the trees in there, there'll be some adjusting of surrounding colors to do and possibly some texturizing that I like from the study.

Again, hard to get accurate color with a flash at night -
I've got to try it with the flash off

I'm hoping to start work on it tonight while it's all fresh in the memory.  However, I spent the day at the park with the kids (all day...without sunscreen), and now I'm really tired.  There's something about spending time in the sun that just drains all energy from you.  Hopefully, I'll get a second wind.

Making a Splash...

I've been working on a couple of different things lately.  I've stepped back into the chef panel, doing a little here and a little there.  I put in a layer of color on the architectural elements and started the grape leaves creeping across the top.  I added a couple of minor veggies and filled in the purple grape at the bottom. 

My challenge here was the splash.  I originally started using cerulean blue and was horrified - blech!  Switching to ultramarine was much better...but, wait a minute!  I didn't try pthalo.  Might have to try that tomorrow.

Another thing I started was a study of a tree - the type of tree that will go in panels 1 and 2.  This is especially challenging because it's a truck load of green, green, and more green.  I have 3 different greens in the hillside and another 3 (or more) greens that make up the tree.  I'm having to find ways to create contrast, even though in the reference pictures that I'm using, it does blend together at times.  I need to work on it a bit and work out the kinks.

Not very accurate color, but wanted to share
what I have so far

I think I have a studio guest at night.  I'm not sure, but I think it might be this guy:

I've heard him rustling around here and there.  I suppose we can share the space for now...so long as he doesn't start using my paints.

Can You Spot the Differences?

I'm getting to the point in this panel where changes are smaller, so they may not be so obvious - little things here and there.

The most obvious addition was to start mapping out the wine bottle on the table.  I plan to add something else on the table, but I haven't decided what exactly that's going to be (decisions, decisions).  Also, you might notice that I've finally filled in the red dress, bringing that closer to completion. 

Less obvious is the repaint touch-up of the purple grapes that was needed after previous adjusting of the figures.  Also, I detailed the male figure's hand that's resting on the table - it had no definition and just blended in with the tabletop.

Last, but not least, I mixed up a darker dark for the grape leaves to add some deeper shadows and more contrast.  Happier with the look of it now, but I may add another dark before the job is done.

One revelation that I had tonight was how much focused thought goes into painting (for me anyway).  I know this because it seems that whenever I go out to paint, I am followed by a couple of kids - one that feels the need to be talking about everything that passes through her head (and this from the one we wondered if she would every talk)!  I love having my kids by my side, but it's very hard to think about what I'm doing AND respond to her.  I don't think I ever realized just how focused I am when working.  I am now thinking that when my art class students are busy working, I should probably just shut up because they're probably not listening to anything I'm saying.

My other painting partner likes to buzz around on her own.  But, tonight she thought it would be fun to "help" with the mural.  She has her own paint brush, used to Disney Dumbo book as a "palette," climbed up on the step ladder, and got to work.

Future muralists of America - UNITE!

Moving On...

Woohoo!  I think I've done enough grape leaves for now and I'm ready to move on.

I even worked on the giant leaves behind the figures, but I started to run out of the "highlight" mixture.  So, I may still go back to it...but probably on my last pass through of "final touches." 

Darn flash glare!  Notice that I added a couple of leaves to
overlap the grapes.

For now, I think I'll move on to the rest of the panel - giant grape touch up, the female figure's dress, the tabletop (remember, there's supposed to be a bottle of wine there), and I need to fill their glasses.  Then, on to the architecture around the chef, floor touch-up, a few more veggies and the splash.  It may seem like just a little bit left, but there's still a lot to do in the first couple panels - there are supposed to be trees, details on the pumpkins (more leaves, and stems), and crops growing on the rows under the wave - things like that.  But, after that, it's all touch up detailing.  There's light at the end of the tunnel.

Still toasting with empty glasses - hmmmm, white or red?

Back to the Grapes

Leaves, leaves, and more leaves.  I tried working on the mural this afternoon, but it was a bit hot up on the step ladder - heat rises and it is definitely warmer working on the upper part of the mural.  So, I waited until it was evening to continue.  The downside of that is dealing with the glare of the lights in certain spots while painting.  Oh well...

Anyway, I started detailing the grape leaves.  Part of me was dreading it (just a little) - there are so many.  I still have many more to go, but I'd say I'm about two-thirds done.

This is how it looked before - leaves just loosely "sketched" in

As many as there are to do, it is nice to see them being defined more.

With more detail built up

Back to the Boards...

Well, I'm back.  It's been a very busy week with the end of school (summer vacation - here we come), registration for my homeschool co-op next fall, a broken down car to repair, my turn to sit at the gallery, a birthday (mine), unexpected doctor appointment...you get it.  Also, I've been suffering from tennis elbow symptoms that have been around since before I started the mural, so a little break seemed like a good idea.

My very own art critic

I did head out to the garage this evening to add some details to the strawberries - softening the shading around the seeds, adding dark shadows under the leafy tops, etc.  Also, I detailed some of the flowers a little more - mainly the centers, adding a little red/orange in.

I wasn't out for too long, though.  I'm at the point where I'm going to be moving on to the next panel - the grapes and all of those leaves.  It's going to require me to mix up a little more of some paint colors and, once I get going, it's one of those areas that I'll probably obsessively continue until I have them all done.  So, tonight was not the night to go there.  Maybe tomorrow.

Working Out the Kinks...

Well, lots to tell today.  First of all, I did a phone interview with the Santa Maria Sun last week (a local weekly paper) and it is in this week's issue!  Exciting stuff for me - you can check it out here.

Secondly, I was pretty frustrated with yesterday's progress - or lack thereof.  I didn't really have the time that's needed to spend on the strawberry girl, so I had to leave her in a pretty poor state - I hate to walk away from something without some degree of resolution.  Then, this morning we ended our history study of the Renaissance for the school year with a biography DVD on Michelangelo.  To see his amazing work and then go out to the garage to my mural was rather humbling as an artist.

Anyway, I am happy to say that I was able to solve - or at least improve - several issues on the strawberry panel today.  I fixed skin tones, proportions, and adjusted contrast (particularly the background wave vs. figure's skin tone).  I spent a lot of time trying to get her arms and hands in believable positions - grrrrrr. I worked on the flowers and strawberries, but there is work to be done there still - in this case, I need to tone down the contrast and have the seeds blend in a bit more.

One of my favorite details today is the hair - I gave her some curls and I like the color (I thought the strawberry girl should have red hair).

Slow Progress

I wasn't feeling well over the last several days, so there's little progress to report on.  I did, however, start on the Strawberry Girl, laying down some base colors.

There's still a good amount of work to do on her, but she's started.  I wish I had used a specific model - it would save time in detemining certain angles, shadows, etc.  Of course, finding a gigantic strawberry for the model to hold might be a challenge...