Stressing out over whether or not we for sure got the bid on the third mural this week. I mean, It was either our product or competing with a large format digital printer --- I felt like I was being replaced by a robot. I have been suffering migraine headaches from the stress of it all and stressing out on a few unsettled less finished areas in the Mountain Vista Mural.
Last week we took a day off from this project and went to Salt Lake to do some due diligence, comparing our hand painted fine art product vs. large format printing. The end result --- we found out that pixilation quality could be a big issue on something as large as 30 feet high by 200 feet long (the size of the next wall that gets the mural). We also learned that my bid was way more competitive than having a the mural produced digitally. We beat the digital bid by $6 per square feet less than digital and we still can make a profit. There were other factors where we had the greater advantage such as; What if the enlarged image looked different once it was scaled up on the wall? Too late to make corrections if you didn't see the problem in the smaller scaled concept. WE CAN MAKE THOSE CHANGES BY HAND IF NECESSARY! Not a problem for us.
More often than not, the mural does look a little different, especially with small dark areas suddenly looking too big and obnoxious once it is enlarged. When creating the small scaled preliminary sketch, you try to solve all the design issues, but you must always anticipate that the enlarged concept, once it is on the wall, could look a little different. If it does, what are you going to do to fix the problem and you must be prepared to make them when they come up. DO you have what it takes?
It was a relief when the client came by today. He was very happy with how the mural was turning out and let me know that I can start on the big 30 foot by 200 foot mural as soon as the Mountain Vista and MC Print Murals are finished. When I heard this today, it was such a relief... Whew! My stress was reduced and the migraine headache went away almost immediately!
MOUNTAIN VISTA MURAL
This sketch represents a hike up Timpanogos Trail. Click on photo to enter Novatek website and see finished mural inside Novatek building.
POSSIBLE PAITING FOR MOUNTAIN VISTA CONFERENCE ROOM
This morning, we temporarilly hung this painting in the building's conference room to see if they like it. Reaction was very good!
PAINTING HUNG IN CONFERENCE ROOM
This show how the painting looks in the corporate environment. Now we're looking for a contemporary frame to hang it in.
The Main Scene
Here we attempted to weave several photos together in photoshop
LEFT END
APRIL 7, 2011. This shows the span of the mural from the left end. This is the view you see when you first walk in.
EMPLOYEE WITH MURAL
APRIL 4, 2011. Novatek employee with mural in background.
VIEW OF NOVATEK MACHINE SHOP WITH MURAL
APRIL 5, 2011. Here is another view of the mural with a section of one of Novatek's metal carving lathes in the forground.
APRIL 4, 2011. OPEN DOOR.
APRIL 4, 2011. An open door to another world.
The Interior Setting
MARCH 14, 2011. This picture gives you a better idea of the setting where the mural is painted. It is basically a machine shop. You'll never find a machine shop cleaner and more inspiring anywhere in the United States than inside this building!
ROBERTS BENCH WITH FINAL ACCENTS
APRIL 7, 2011. WHen you see this much of the Bench, a main Timpanogos feature, you're a little better than half way to the summit. A little further up you will come to the remains of a plane wreck that happened in the 1950's, Emerald Lake, a glacial field and possibly spot some Rocky Mountain goats.
Roberts Bench Timpanogos Feature
THis is the actual photograph I took on the hike up Timpanogos Trail last fall of 2010.
LEFT OF THE FALLS
APRIL 7, 2011. Area left of the waterfall.
ROBERTS POINT
APRIL 7, 2011. Between Roberts Bench and Roberts Point and in the saddle, you will discover a lake called Emerald Lake.
Roberts Point
I took quite a few artistic liberties to get my "Roberts Point" to look good painted over the vertical supports, but here is an actual photograph of the Point. The Point and the Bench were not named after the famous Robert Redford who owns neighboring Sun Valley, but after a natualist from the early 1900's. He spent many years hike Timpanogos, conducting hiking tours and developing the trails..
Stewart Falls JPEG
Here is an actual picture of the Stewart Falls feature along the hike. The Timpanogos Trail is a great experience. Next year, I plan to reach the summit of Roberts Bench which is the top of Timpanogos.
FINAL ACCENTS ON DISTANT ASPENS
APRIL 7, 2011. The low morning sunlight spotlights the line of aspens behind Stewart Falls, skitters across the rock wall area and highlights the waterfall..
GOLDEN ASPENS IN SUNLIGHT
APRIL 7, 2011. Aspens in the light of midmorning.
STEWART FALLS WITH ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT
APRIL 7, 2011. WIth the finished mural, the goat, waterfall and surrounding area got some final accents.
Photo Of Goat
Here's the Goat I saw near Emerald Lake. The lake is about a mile and a half below the Timpanogos summit.
Lowest tear of Stewarts Falls different viewpoint.
Took a different trail on July 4th, 2011 to Stewarts Falls.
Aspen Grove
On the hike up to Stewarts Falls, there were many beautiful groves of Aspens.
MOOSE AREA
APRIL 7, 2011. As an added interest, we painted a pair of moose and a squirrel in this area. Can you see the squirrel?
SQUIRREL
APRIL 7, 2011. The squirrel makes a nice accent of detail.
COW MOOSE
APRIL 7, 2011. The cow pokes out from behind a group of aspens. Can you find the squirrel in this picture?
LEFT END DETAIL 1
APRIL 7, 2011. Tree top detail on left end.
LEFT END DETAIL 2
APRIL 7, 2011. This shows some of the finishing details of the mural.
LEFT END DETAIL 3
APRIL 7, 2011. I love to paint the markings and the reflected light details
THE MURAL AT THE BEGINNING STAGES
This picture remins the viewer what tthe mural looked like in during the beginning stages of development.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Out Of Zombie Territory
The mural is really coming together now, but sometimes the best thing to do is get away from it and come back with a fresh eye. A lot of area has been covered now --- Pretty much every square inch. There is a large amount of detail throughout the scene, some of which I may go back through and simplify. At this point, things will considerably slow down. Slight color adjustments, minor design alterations and value corrections here and there will be the focus up to the finish, which I anticipate will happen sometime next week. We have come a long way since we started the project the first of January. At one point, I didn't think we'd every be able to completely solve the design issues we struggled with, yet we came out winning! Perhaps it's not perfect, but I won't have nightmares over it. I hate it when a bad painting haunts me. I always do everything I can to avoid having my own work haunt me like a Zombie sucking out my brain. So I guess the analogy of the day is; Basically I'm spending the remaining hours on this mural killing off all the Zombies until every last one of them are dead!
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