Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mural Marathon – the HHSA Murals

IT'S MARCH 2010, another slow month for commissions and I'm a little concerned. And if I were an artist that stressed, worried, doubted my abilities, or panicked (which I am not) I would be a little crazy right about now. My philosophy is to take a deep breath and continue painting.

I LOVE the ring of my rotary phone in the studio – it's a happy sound. And never more so than when I received the call from Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency in Visalia. I was immediately asked how fast I could paint murals. My reply- if fast is crucial, I'm your woman – but you would also get skill, creativity and excellence thrown in. Let's meet.

VISITATION ROOMS in Porterville, Dinuba, Tulare and Visalia, for foster children, were sadly in need of loving care. I was hired, along with an assistant Fabi Belman, to paint colorful murals in 13 rooms, which had to be finished by the end of May. I was confident, if Fabi and I worked around the clock, that we could finish additional murals by the deadline, and so we signed a contract to complete 18 murals in 2 months. Call me crazy.

WHAT AN ADVENTURE! I have never had so much in my life. I have never worked so hard or laughed so hard. I had never worked with an assistant before, but working with Fabi was magic. Walls were prepped and cleaned and tarps on the floor before I even asked. And every day she pushed her skills as an artist. Fabi- you rock! Days were long and there were times I just wanted to take a nap on the floor. We painted each mural in about 3 days. On weekends, I designed 2 murals for the following week. We finished 1 day early.

FOLLOW ALONG, in the many posts upcoming, and watch as Fabi and I paint.


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