Very close. Last few days on this panel; two to go.

Many of my students, colleagues and closest friends have been generous in their observations and suggestions, resulting in quite a bit of fine tuning.  Hope to start the second panel in a couple of days after my closest advisor and partner has a chance to study recent revisions.  The trees have become more dimensional with more forward branches.  Figures have been glazed back in some areas.  Hotter reds and oranges have been applied to the lower areas.  The largest figures and busts have been worked to better instill a sense of their antiquity and ancestral presence.  Still no title.

Final adjustments, hearing suggestions from colleagues and students.

Today I had my dear friend John Gregory visit.  He made useful suggestions that I incorporated immediately.  Later a group of my student also came to see the work and they too made useful suggestions.  This weekend still more close friends will no doubt offer advise.  Since this project is, by spirit and intent, collaborative, all of these voices are welcomed wholeheartedly.

The large luminous busts have been glazed back a bit into the burnt siena field.  Some figures have been rendered more translucent, notably "the lovers".  The giddy girl (lower right) has been softened and glazes more into the field.   The tree trunks have been more fully developed in the upper few feet.  Here is the current status of the work, now very close to completion. The shot may be a bit too dark at the bottom but the other colors are reasonably accurate:

Current status.

The work is nearing completion but lack some adjustments best done through subtle glazes, layering color over color semi-transparently.

A collaborative process

A distinguished delegation from OSU, THA Architecture  and Saralyn Hilde from the Oregon Arts Commission visited my studio/home on Friday the 8th of April to view and discuss progress on the first of the three mural panels. I enjoyed the meeting very much. Their response was encouraging and many of the observations will be useful as I finish this panel, hopefully within a couple of weeks.   Then, on to the second....

Nicholas Hemmer of THA took a shot of the group, though I wish I had taken more of the group discussing the work.  Saralyn took a few shots of me working during her visit with her husband Mikkel.