Hello all y’all , I am beyond stoked and honored to share this mural along with the process shots and also show some love to all the volunteers and supporters during this project. It was a ton of work that took a week longer than I thought, and it definitely reminded me that I am in my mid 40’s now. A tremendous THANK YOU! to, ‘The Broad Strokes Project‘ for making this happen, go give their site a look see to check out the other murals and art projects they have had throughout the years.
Here is the preliminary sketch and had to add elements on site to fit within wall dimensions. I love that part , it is challenging but almost like free styling and spiritual communication all in one. I kept having to advocate for the center figure and reassure them she isn’t naked.
The beginning
…A huge huge Thank you to all the wonderful and amazing volunteers that came out strong and helped immensely , Without them I may still be out there painting away. It was overwhelming at first learning how to coordinate with so much help available and it taught me allot. Big thanks to, Alex, Jasper, Susan, Jim, Zach, Elizabeth, Lindsey, Mikie, Martin, Drew, Roland Wines and more!
Another major thank you to everyone that took photos and documentation. A thank you to Greg from Geezerlife , Thank you to Roland Wines , and Thank you to Jacob of The Broad Strokes Project.
Color Comes In
SIMON CHILLIN AND GETTIN LOVE
A preliminary sketch
There were allot of , Banded Alder Borer beetles showing up to the mural and covering the wall. I later learned that they are attracted to fresh paint!
The banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris Motschulsky, is a member of the beetle family
known as Cerambycidae. This family is known collectively as the long horned wood
boring beetles. The banded alder borer is the only species of this genus in North
America, occurring from Alaska to southern California and in the Rocky Mountains from
Idaho to New Mexico. The larvae bore in the trunks of dead Acer, Alnus, Fraxinus,
Platanus, Quercus, Salix, and Umbellularia californica, but are not recorded as
economically damaging.
The adults (Fig. 1) are elongate, flattened, parallel-sided
beetles about 25 to 35 mm long. The body and long antennae are conspicuously black-
and-white banded. The adults usually are encountered singly in summer, but
occasionally they are attracted in numbers to fresh paint. The banded alder borer is not
a pest and there is no need for control. The adults are sometimes mistaken for the
imported Asian long-horned beetle. The latter, however, has white spots on a shiny
black background—not bands!
Featured in the murals center is a reappearing being I paint called ‘Dark Mother‘. .Alas Dark Mother , I know thee, I see thee…
This was my first really present mural since coming out of alcoholism and my mother dying. It really meant allot to not only have this opportunity but to also see that part of myself that just dives into the work and gets lost again. It was healing being reminded of the artist I am and to get to know the artist I have become.
Art has always been personally healing and I just hope the outcome of the work can act as something healing for someone else as well.
If you have followed this post so far , Thank you so much for checking it out! I will be posting on here more than on social media as time moves along, so I hope you give this lil bloggy a look through for the next one too!
This lil paintin is up for grabs too! at just two hunny! if interested, Holla at meh! till then stay hydrated, rested, present and well my friends. ,-E
