Rock(y) Week

The plan last week was to head out to Triple C Camp to work on the mural twice. I wanted to get the rocks sketched in to the stream and its banks and start placing the large mammals. Things did not turn out exactly as I had planned....

An unexpected trip to the ER early in the week really threw me for a loop. It was for a family member, and everything is going to be OK, but it was scary, took a whole day, and really made the rest of the week "rocky". I know, it sounds corny, but sometimes art really does imitate life, or is that vice versa?

I did manage to get the rocks sketched in. Some people might be able to think "boulder" and have just the right shape and size materialize from their brush. But not me. I need to look at boulders, or pictures of boulders, for that to happen. Since I cannot actually haul large boulders in to sketch from them, I had to look at lots of pictures and try to put together a montage that I thought would fit nicely into the contours of the little stream running through the mural. I looked at lots of pictures, put it together, scaled it down, and was ready to paint.

Let's just say I'm not exactly happy with the way it came out. Who knows, if I'd been having a better week I might have spent more time looking at photos, or whatever. Part of the problem is that the stream is front and center in the mural, and now the rocks just stick out like a sore thumb. And I thought I had chosen some cool-looking formations, but they look all jagged and fake. Also, I used a gray wash which is a bit darker than the other washes I have used so far, so they stand out even more. It can be fixed, in fact it will be an easy fix once I get working on the details in that area. It's just the first time (of many more times to come) that something didn't come out quite right at first.

The good news is, at least the rocks are in the right place and the scale looks right. I could go in there and fix them right away, but I'm going to wait. They stick out now, but as I add layers of color and more details to the mural they will blend in and become part of it. I will wonder why I ever thought they were wrong. Sometimes the things we think are "boulders" in our lives are like that too. At first they seem huge and it's hard to see around them, we wish they would just go away. Then, as we change course to adjust and add layers of experiences to our lives, they seem to soften and become an integral part of the scenery. I know the mural rocks will do just that.

Jeez, I couldn't even get a good picture of the bad rocks! There are even more in a different part of the mural.

 

So this week will be on to the big mammals. I have to look at lots of photos, try to find the ones that best match my vision for the composition, and adjust them to scale, just like I did for the rocks. I am going to put a nearly life-sized bear cub clinging to a tree right in front, with his mama peeking out from behind. It should be fun looking for images to match what I have in mind. For now, I am over the rocks and on to the next thing!