Lions and tigers and bears.....

OK, so there are no lions or tigers, but there is a bobcat and a bear. Two bears, actually; a mama black bear and her cub. The fun part starts now! Prepping the wall and laying out the landscape was tedious (so I can only imagine how boring it is just reading about it), but painting the critters is why I signed up for this job.

mama black bear

The original plan was to map out the entire mural, with exact locations for all the plants and animals, before starting to paint any of them. After many attempts, and many wasted hours staring at blank paper, I realized that I needed a new plan. In the famous words of some marketing genius, I decided to "just do it". Using the original concept sketch as a guide, and correcting for scale, I have put up the first of the mammals. This feels like a much more natural way of working for me, and if the mural really is going to "evolve" then the methods should be able to adapt as well. The animals are just sketched in at this point. The details will come later after I make sure everything is in its proper place.

black bear cub

 I started with the mammals for several reasons. First, they are generally larger than the other creatures and I have to make sure I fit them all in. Second, they can become focal points around which I design little vignettes of plants and animals. Third, they're just cool!

white-tailed doe and fawns

gray squirrel

But just because an animal is large doesn't mean that I will paint it large in the mural. If I made them all life-sized there wouldn't be room for everything. For example, the white-tailed doe and fawns are placed on a hill in the distance, so the actual size of their image is about the same as the image of the gray squirrel, who is represented life-sized, and sits on top of one of the doors right up "front". I could not resist having one large life-sized mammal, so I chose the mama and baby black bear. They definitely take up a lot of room in the foreground, but once I get all the details in and fill in their environment with plants and other small creatures, I think it will become a very effective vignette. I have to save room in the foreground for all the smaller creatures, because if I put them in the distance they would be too tiny to be recognizable.

bobcat

As I have said before, the room I am working in is used for teaching and there are usually kids and counselors around while I'm working. When I was working on the layout no one spoke to me much or asked me any questions about what I was doing. But the critters really draw people out. I now get all kinds of questions and comments. The purpose of the mural is to teach and inspire, so I am pleased to say that it is already working, even though it is still several months to completion. A young man asked me yesterday "Are you a good artist?" I hesitated with my answer, but finally said "Well, I work really hard and I enjoy what I do." Maybe there is a kid out there who has a secret desire to be an artist. If so, I hope that kid finds me. I'll tell him that being an artist is more about working hard, believing in yourself, and doing what you love than it is about talent.

spotted skunk, curled up asleep at the base of a tree