Progress

The figures continue to appear and gain light, both internal and external.  The theme has to do with the mythic enigma of individuality within the human condition.  The low sky will gain depth and subtle color.  Trees on the left will be laid in this weekend.   The OSU committee is coming to visit again on the 7th of June.  I hope to have this panel nearing completion by then. 

Second panel taking shape

Status, as of today.  Much left to do.  More layers of form and color over the infants.  More figures are likely as this panel develops.  The figure on the left will have his eyes open a bit when finished, and the hands and feet/legs will be more developed on the figure to the right.  Much more to go to get these figures to be more present in the context of the color fields.  Layers!  Glazes!  Still, I want there to be a lot of transparency and luminosity in the forms, abstract and yet also figurative. 

The theme of this second panel is individualism, growth, interdependence with the natural order.  It goes on the third floor beneath a wonderful sky light.   Hopefully, it will flow visually from the panel on the second floor as seen from the lobby, looking up into the stair well.

The rest of the shots in this post are progress shots, leading up to today.  

Laying in the first color fields with reference to the already finished panel.

Detail. What the field looked like at one stage.  Numerous layers were applied as glazes to achieve the desired complexity of color passages and implied textures.  

A check on the alignments with reference to the first panel.  Of particular interest is in getting the trees on the left to align properly.  

Detail.  Beginning to lay in the sky field with clouds

Very incomplete but moving along.  The relatively grey field at the bottom is actually a bit more blue but I am not satisfied.

Detail, working out the clouds.

Detail. Violet and red passages applied, which may have to be toned down once the surfaces is dry again.  

Detail. Status as of the end of work this morning.  Forms are too buried still, lack definition.  Trees are not yet in.  lower register is not fully developed.  

Reference painting showed to the committee as part of the proposal.

The First Panel is Finished

Today I am declaring this first panel complete, after having received very good advice and patient close scrutiny from the OSU, THA and OAC committee, many friends, colleagues, students and most importantly my partner, María Isabel.  Just this afternoon the final touch-ups and refinements were completed.

Though still untitled, this panel of the Hallie Ford Center mural cycle has to do with the chain and web of human relationships, including those with others in life, those that went before us that nevertheless continue to influence our lives and sense of self, our forefathers and mothers reaching into the primordial ground of our being, all embedded in, and composed of the landscape.
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Panel #2 will deal with individual development.  It is primed and will be ready for the first color layers as soon as it is good and dry.  I hope to post images of that process within a couple of days.  The third, destined for the lobby of the Center, will deal with community in the broadest possible sense.

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.