Changed Projects For A Few Weeks

February 14th. We are now working on the Novatek Mountain Vista Mural. We will be there for a few weeks. We will be back to this mural to finish it around the end of February or first of March. Check out the progress on the other mural at; http://www.novatekmountainvistamural.blogspot.com

How Much Are My Murals Worth?

In the Spring of 2006, a client of mine hired me to paint a scene of Mount Nebo on a wall inside one of his industrial complexes. This particular client likes to invent, develop and market products which mostly service the oil and gas industries. WHen the new business is ready, the client will often sell it to another company or investor, then start developing new products to follow a similar process again. The Inteliserv building was massive. I painted on the south wall a mural measuring approximately 25 feet by 150 feet. During the middle of the project, the client sold the business for several million.

Recently, someone asked me how much I would charge for a mural project similar to the ones I am currently working on. Using the Inteliserv Mural as an example, I told him the Inteliserv Mural sold for several million!

Actually, a more realistic dollar figure is with with several zeros left off the end. Sometimes I charge by the square foot, sometimes by the hour plus overhead cost or I just make a straight bid based on my mural and fine art experience of over 30 years.

"Slow Down, Don't Move Too Fast..."

Today, the painting process started slowing down a little. We are now using smaller brushes and we are being more careful with the brushwork. I wish you could see the mural in person. If you live in the Salt Lake and Provo / Utah County area, email me at rricks1002@yahoo.com. I would be happy to meet with you so you can see the mural first hand. A few days ago, I thought the mural would be finished by this Friday. Now I realize I may still have one more week on the project. Monday, we go back into the Mountain Vista building to work on that mural for a few weeks.

Customers Are Impressed and Very Pleased!

Today was VIP day. A group of investors walked through the old MC Print building to tour the facility. A lot of eyes were on us as we worked on the project. Several gave us a thumbs up (A good sign we're headed in the right direction). The client who is paying for the project also said he was very happy. The feedback he had received from his employees over the past few days has been very positive. We take great pride in making sure the client gets exactly what he wants.

Today I learned that the third mural will be on the north wall and 50 feet longer than I had anticipated, making this project 30 feet by 200 feet rather than 150. This will be the biggest mural project I have ever conquered.

The past 2 days, I struggled at first painting in the Silver Creek section. One of the engineers named Marshall suggested that my ash green grass would look better if changed to a "browner" tone. This suggestion was the perfect fix for what was bugging me. I also simplified the area. LESS IS MORE never fails to fix a problem with design. Another way to say it is as my instructor, Sergei Bongart put it; "More important is what you leave out than what you put in".

Tomorrow, we plan to work mainly on the left most and right most sections of the mural to make it consistent with the rest of the project.

Mural Might Be Finished In A Few Days!

We got a lot accomplished the last three painting sessions. The mural is getting to look quite detailed. We added more detail to the peaks, allowing the granite forms to peek through the heavy blanket of snow on the granite forms which identify Mount Timpanogos. We added an eagle and black birds to the sky, a nice not so obvious detail which brings life to the landscape. We also added a moose. We will soon add more moose near the lake area. The creek area is beginning to come out with water trickling over the river rock and cascading down the hillside. At first this area got to busy (an all too common hazard easy to fall into) until We discovered how to simplify the area, yet make it have an organic feel. The lake area will also get a pair of trumpeter swans taking off along with some other waterfowl varieties. at first, I felt that the mural would be finished by the weekend, but as I studied it further, I began to realize it might take a couple of days longer.

I want this mural to be so good, so exquisite that another client I have in mind will hire me to paint murals for them. When I finish this mural and the one in the Mountain Vista building, I plan to invite the client's design committee to see it personally.

"Almost Good Enough To Go Fly Fishing"

It's interesting to hear the comments from those who walk by everyday. The employees in the old MC Print building where I'm painting the mural, started noticing that the mural is beginning to look more realistic. As one guy walked past it he said, "It looks almost good enough to go fly fishing!" The trees, mountains, foothills and lake each day gets a little more 3D form. Today especially, the painting is looking more representational (identifiable realism). Another funny comment was, "Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to find our office door!" Actually, all they have to do is look for their office door window. I can't paint over the window (wish I could).

Several employees asked if they could make a request. I got a request for everything from fly fishermen, a girl in a bikini, a hedgehog, a ground hog and a squirrel among others. I tell them, "You're welcome to make a request, but that's no guarantee I'll put it in." Then I let them know I plan to add moose, some waterfowl and maybe a pair of swans taking off from the lake.

I'm sorry, I didn't get any pictures posted today. The photo update will come tomorrow night when I blog again. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

A Possible New Studio!

I got a call from a young fellow who has space that is approximately 20 feet by 30 feet and offered me studio space for my easel works. I am currently looking for a new studio. I put the word out on craigslist 2-3 weeks ago. I will go check it out on Tuesday. Hope it will work!

When I return to the MC Print Mural on Monday, I plan to work on the foreground, rocks and the trees. Once I have the basic structure of all this worked out, then I will return to the mountain details. At this point, we will pretty much be working all over the mural and not necessarily in one area balancing all art principles until the project is finished. The following week, we will then resume the progress of the Mountain Vista Mural until it is also finished.

Once I get my studio set up again, in between all the mural work, I will be creating new paintings for my Park City art gallery and for the One Man Show in the SMA this fall.

Feb. 4th; Timpanogos Gets A Little Detail

The past few weeks, I had been thinking how to better represent the mountain more realistically with paint. I didn't want to over detail the mural---LESS IS MORE applies here. Nor did I want to paint the main mountain colors too intense. Neutralizing the color tones did the trick. This will will more effectively create color contrast and allow me to place just the right amount of brighter color where the morning sunlight skitters over the majestic granite rock forms. The mountain and surrounding hills will still get more detail; including color and value contrast, cosmetic refinement (or detail) and final accents of color. Right now areas on the mountain seem a little too dark. Part of the reason is because we are still working in MIDDLE VALUES. The middle values must come first before all the icing on the cake.

Before we called it a day, I quickly scumbled in a mountain mist near the base of the foothill just behind the Silver Lake Reservoir then added some pine tree details.

To our pleasant surprise, we painted much of the mountain forms in one 6 hour painting session. We plan to put our time in on the mural all next week and we could have the project close to being finished by then. The following week (the third week of February), we will return to the Mountain Vista Mural and then work through a few challenges we have over there until it is also finished.