Mural Progress

One of the biggest challenges of this project has been the curb and crushed rock beneath the wall. Right off the bat, we had to eliminated a sissor lift (can't get it close to the wall) and scaffolding with wheels (same issue). A bucket lift was expensive and created difficulties with parking in the lot. That, plus we needed to accommodate four of us working at the same time.

With the help of Delux Rental in Ypsilanti, we came up with a solution – four scaffolding towers that would be moved every week or so as we continue on down the wall. An additional challenge was the concrete wall that has to be spanned at the end of the parking lot. What a hassle, but it has worked out – big thanks to Sean and Paul from Delux. Mary Thiefels of Treetown Murals stopped by with advise in configuring the walkboards, and moving people and materials up and down most efficiently. Thanks so much Mary!

As of the middle of August we'd progressed through two scaffolding moves. I really love painting on cinder block. The texture makes it easier to blend, dry-brush style.















We've been blessed with great weather for the last month and a half, if you don't count 90+ degree days. The painting is a pleasure, but figuring out the rest of the puzzle has me up in the middle of the night. For heat relief, we found some synthetic, loosely woven cloth and configured it to hang from the scaffolding, giving us shade in the afternoon while letting the breeze it. Ahhhh...much better.

Around the first of the month we'd finished the lower mural and were ready to tackle the upper design. The projection and tracing needs to happen before the scaffolding is assembled so onto the scary ladders we go. Thanks to our ground crew, Marcia Maier, we have documentation of the  process.

Waiting for dark on a beautiful summer evening. My husband John, Ron Maier and me.

That's good sport and brave soul, Deb Pearson, and me tracing the projected design.

Next comes the big move to the roof. Up we go with all the scaffolding plus our equipment and paint. Delux moved the big stuff, leaving the rest (including all the paint) to the rope and bucket brigade. Thanks to Kyle, Andrea and Anna for the backbreaking work!

Sean, Paul and he-man helper moving the scaffolding, piece by piece to the roof (on a Sunday!).

Moving the scaffolding

Delux Rental came out to do the first scaffolding move yesterday. We're starting our march down the wall and it feels good to have a chunk finished. Of course there are a few things I'd like to tweak on the now out of reach images. Ann Arbor sign painter and muralist Zeke Mallory had some valuable advise when he told me to remember that a mural is not a fine art painting. I will have to keep reminding myself of that!

The heat is proving to be a serious challenge. A weeks worth of upper 80s and low 90s on a south facing wall overlooking blacktop – with under-painting tinted in bright orange – has made it necessary to plan our day around the sun. We work on exposed areas in the morning, retreating to work under the scant scaffolding shade as the sun moves to the west. Oxford has provided a GoPro camera taking stop-action shots so using a sunscreen on the front is out of the question. My next research project is to find some kind of covering that we can use on the west end of the scaffolding to keep the late afternoon sun less brutal.

On The Wall

After a shaky start, the mural team of Kyle, Andrea, Anna and Cathy has made progress! I will remind you that I have never painted bigger than my drawing table so this is completely new to me. Hopefully, some of our discoveries and practices will prove interesting and helpful to someone out there.

A crowded parking lot

Finding our footing (literally and figuratively) on painting approaches, responsibilities, scaffolding safety and hydration, we are off and running. We're using the house paint and expertise of local favorite, Anderson Paint. They are the best!

The paint handles wonderfully, except in the extreme heat of late afternoon. No wet blending, we're taking advantage of the quick dry time and blending by dry brush only. Everyone's getting the hang of it. The acrylic painters among us will appreciate the accommodations necessary for the giant dark step in value as the paint dries. It's the charm and irritation of acrylics.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that Benjamin Moore lets you view a small paint sample online for all of their colors. A screen grab lets me bring it into Photoshop and eyedropper it for better matching to my digital color painting. There is still the calibration between media that is vexing but it's a wonderful discovery that I hope will save paint cost and mixing time.

So stop by 210 South Fifth Avenue, just north of Afternoon Delight for a peek. We're having fun!

I've been busy.

It's been almost a year since my last post. (Sounds like the beginning of one of my childhood visits to a confessional)

But I have been busy!

The past year has been both the most exciting and the most exhausting of my freelance career. This coming September will bring the debut of my very first illustrated children's picture book.

This is the scene last January as I was packaging up the paintings to mail to the publisher. The name of the book is The Nutcracker Comes to America: How Three Ballet-loving Brothers Created a Holiday Tradition and it is written by the amazing Chris Barton. More to come on that later.

After a small breather in March, I learned that I was awarded the contract for a gigantic mural project in Ann Arbor. Commissioned by Oxford Properties, it will be painted on two wall surfaces just north of Afternoon Delight on Fifth Avenue. The lower mural is on the south facing wall of Oxford's office building and measures 125' x two stories. The upper mural will be painted on the 3rd and 4th story walls of another office building directly north of the first wall, owned by Rene Papo. This wall is not so long, ONLY measuring 54' wide. I have never done anything like this in my life but I've learned a lot and will learn a lot more before we finish. It will be a grand adventure!

I'm working with three College for Creative Studies students, Kyle Scott, Andrea Del Rio and Anna Posey. Last week, with the able assistance of my good friend Middy Potter, my son Ian and my sister plus family, we transferred the two-thirds of the design to the wall at night using a digital projector. Scaffolding went up on Friday of last week and we put the first paint strokes on the wall this morning before the rain chased us out. The guys at Delux Rental in Ypsilanti were incredibly helpful to my ignorant self. I now know more about scaffolding that I'd ever imagined possible. This is the boss's son giving instructions to his assistant.

Part of the bid included a proposal for a video of stop-action progress of the painting, with interviews and process added in. I was so very fortunate to find an amazingly talented videographer, Patrick Murphy, who had graciously agreed to take on that portion of the project. Because of Patrick, my idea of a iphone-shot amateur production has suddenly turned into a very professional endeavor!

 I will post as often as I can with pictures and more info as we make our way along the painting process. And now, on to painting during Art Fair. Oh, boy.

Interview with Slice Ann Arbor

Thanks Barbara Sefton for a wonderful opportunity.

Recent work: Commissioned and Not

Back from my sabbatical of sorts in the Florida Keys for a couple of months, it's time for an update. A few editorial commissions plus a fun project for Shar Music kept me busy through April. The "Zen of Cooking", for one of my favorite art directors and my good friend Jim VanFleteren, appeared in the March/April issue of Eating Well Magazine.

I had a blast with the latest cover in the Coffeehouse Mystery Series for Penguin, written by the award-winning authors Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini (pen named Cleo Coyle) and art directed by the truly amazing Rita Frangie. This book, 14th in the series, weaves traditional fairytale images throughout the narration. Looks like I had steam on my mind in the middle of January.

Shar Music is an Ann Arbor based company that has a large online business and local showroom selling string instruments, sheet music and supplies. These images, two of four, were painted for Sophia & the Secret Violin by Aja Gabel, a personal project put together by my friend Joe Chapman and the company's owner, Haig Avsharian.

During the time in Florida I went back to school (my own!) in Acrylics – still learning how to use the Open line of slower drying paints. Hilltop Laundry in Key West is only maybe 20 years old but looks like a holdover from the 50s. I saw the midday sun on its incredibly turquoise walls and had to shoot. Waited maybe 45 minutes for just the right view of the only customer (or employee) in the place.  I loved the old plastic chairs and the patterns made with the machines inside, plus the idea of interior and exterior.
. Here are some progress shots. I didn't quite get it finished before we left. My illustrator side is still winning out over my fine art side. I'm working on that!

Drum roll please!!
Yesterday I signed the contract for my first ever children's book! I am so very excited to be working with the amazing, award-winning writer Chris Barton. He's a New York Times and Publishers Weekly best selling author, and his previous titles have been named to a host of best books of the year lists. How lucky can a girl be?!
And I'm so grateful to Millbrook Press for taking a chance on a newcomer to the field of children's illustration. For almost three years and with the sage advise of my agent, Chris Tugeau, I've been working my way toward this point.
The project, Pioneers and Pirouettes, will be published in 2015. It's a picture book, telling the story of three Utah brothers whose love for dancing eventually inspired them to bring the Nutcracker Ballet to the United States. I can't wait to get started!

Bayou Boogie

It's been quite a while since my last post but I have not been idle. The below image was originally inspired by my sister Lisa's story about a "pet" alligator that became quite friendly (too friendly) around her husband Richard's fishing camp in the bayou near their home in SW Louisiana.

I'm trying a new thing here, tinting the gesso with a middle ground color and working up a value painting before applying my oil washes. Below you see the final sketch through finish.

Five past Two

And here's the finished painting. Combining both traditional Golden Acrylics and the new(er) open line, I was able to combine dry brush with some traditional blending.
Good to be back home in Ann Arbor. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with my class at CCS today.

Memphis blues

I've spent the month of March on Sugarloaf Key. The trip has become an annual retreat of sorts – some rest, some boating, some socializing, but mostly painting. Picking up where I left off last year, I've been practicing with Golden's Open line of acrylics.
The painting subject this year is Memphis, where we stopped on our way down south. The visit to Graceland was surprisingly interesting. I was a little young to be an Elvis fan, but now have a more respectful understanding of his impact on music and pop culture.

Handsome devil

Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns – Just hanging out at the Rock and Soul Museum

 Back to painting. The subject was the Blues City Cafe after the lunch rush. Red underpainting, charcoal drawing, then just working my way around the canvas. One more day and it will be finished.

Holiday Card Sales!

 Finally, I've gotten around to marketing my holiday cards this season. It's only been on my procrastination list for 5 years. They're available at 16 Hands and at the Peaceable Kingdom in Ann Arbor, and at the Lansing Art Gallery. I'm selling them in packages of 8, with 4 designs to a package for $16.95. Individual cards are also available for $3.95. Yahoo!

500 illustrators in one place!?

Amazing!
I've just returned from ICON 7, four intense days of inspiration and networking in Providence, RI. This one has to be counted among the best of all of the biennial events! It was well organized and pack full of content. The overriding theme of collaboration wound through many of the main stage presentations and emphasized the sense of community that many of us have experienced in our field.
Thank you to the board of directors, the organizing committee and all the volunteers for making it such a wonderful experience!

So, the trip:
After landing in Providence, the first thing on my list was food. I was born in Massachusetts and still have relatives there and in New Hampshire. Many of my summer vacations were spent camping in the White Mountains with frequent  trips to the Maine coast and Cape Cod. My grandmother first introduced me to the lobster roll. I was on a mission. A google map search turned up a Legal Seafood – taa daa!! The lobster was tasty, but the upscale version with a glistening brioche bun was just not the treat of my memories. However...two days later, on a Nashua and Hampton family visit, my cousin Carol produced the real deal for one of the best lunches ever. Lobster roll, my mother's potato salad, homemade lemonade, and just-picked strawberries for dessert. Food heaven.

Lobster Roll at Legal Seafood

The venue for the conference was the beautiful Renaissance Hotel, originally conceived in the 20's as a Masonic Temple. The depression halted construction and it was abandoned for years. It was located within walking distance to RISD and many good shops and restaurants. I stumbled into the Down City area and discovered Small Point Cafe for great food and organic coffee, Symposium Books, a rare find of an independent bookstore,  and many other shops and boutiques tucked into the surrounding streets. I also discovered Big Nazo's puppet making studio totally by chance and was blown away when they marched down the aisle Thursday night for the opening party!

Personal highlights of the conference include the opening party and gallery show at RISD, the children's picture book process workshop hosted by Rachael Cole, Biz Nazo's band and puppet brigade that made the opening night main stage party unforgettable http://bignazo.tumblr.com/, Lynda Barry and sidekick Matt Groening's hilarious keynote address, two very clear presentations on copyright infringement and fair use by Linda Kattwinkel, the MFA debate between Marshall Arisman of SVA and David Porter of RISD and a truly inspirational presentation by Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson of Idiot Books.
Now I'm more than pumped and ready to paint!!

Lynda Barry and Matt Groening in their earlier days together

One of John Cuneo's unforgettably irreverent drawings

 

 

Brian Rea and Paul Sahre

Closing party with Moonhooch

Chris Buzelli''s beautiful poster image