One of the most rewarding
and challenging times in my career came about in the summer of 1987.
I was asked by the city of Centralia, Washington to paint a large mural
in their downtown historic district. The subject was a barn and haywagon
from an 1860's black and white photograph.
My "canvas" was a large wall on the south
side of a theatre. The brick wall had been recently painted tan.
The mural was to be 20 ft. X 30 ft. and had to start 15 feet above street
level.
"My 'canvas' was a large wall on
the south side of a theatre."
The city supplied the paint and provided the
scaffolding, as well as the black and white photo. From the photograph
I made a 20 inch X 30 inch full color painting in oil. The mural
committee then reviewed the painting and approved it. (The painting
is now in the collection of the City of Centralia).
The next step was to place a grid on the painting
to the scale of one inch equals one foot. A grid was then applied
to the wall using masking tape to mark one foot intervals. With scaffolding
firmly in place, and paint colors chosen, I climbed up the towering
"cage" and pulled up a bucket of brushes, rags and paint. I also called
up a huge dose of courage, and began to sketch the scene onto the rough
bricks. To gauge scale and perspective, I had to climb down to ground
level and cross the street to the vacant lot. The bricks, of course,
were lined up horizontally, but the scene had a sloping barn roof.
My natural inclination was to follow the line of the bricks. What
a struggle! Climb
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down. Check the lines of the barn.
Climb up. Make corrections. Down. Check. Up.
Correct.
At last the time came to use color.
From then on it was like any other painting, just bigger! I started
in June. The weather was, more often than not, perfect. Occasionally,
showers would come up quickly. I'd descend and sit in my car until
they passed. Some days the sun burned hot and by 10:00 in the morning
it was 90 degrees F., forcing the work to cease until the next cool morning.
The painting progressed well and rapidly. I usually worked from 7:00
a.m. until 3:00 p.m.. My husband was my faithful (and only) assistant.
"I started in June. The weather
was, more often then not, perfect."
One day a television crew from Seattle came
to interview me for the evening news. The guys were great! They,
too, climbed up to nearly 30 feet above the sidewalk with cameras and equipment,
and filmed between showers. After 4 hours of filming, I was on T.V.
for 10 seconds!
Finally the mural was completed, signed and
the scaffolding removed. What a wonderful experience. The art
work is still vivid after fourteen years. It can be seen on the Fox theatre
in Centralia, Washington.
Postscript: Shortly thereafter I did another mural in Centralia's
Mural Alley. It is a street car scene in an oval format.
To view photo's of the mural in progress, please click here.
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