This is my summer job this year. The school district I teach for has hired me to complete a mural for the library in the brand new East Middle School (thanks to former co-workers Bonnie, KarenSue, and Ron for helping me get the job). They wanted it to show famous people and places from the state of Missouri. Above you can see the sketch for the overall design. It’s not your typical mural, because I’m not painting it directly on the wall but on four 5 ft. x 4 ft. canvases (for a total length of 20 ft.) that they will hang together. Obviously, it’s the biggest painting I’ve ever attempted, and it’s been an interesting challenge. I converted the bar between our kitchen and dining room into a huge easel to hold two of the canvases at a time. That way I can draw and paint across the seams when I need to.

I drew all of the different parts of the design and then put them on transparencies, which I then projected (see below) onto the canvasses to get everything accurate. This really helped me make sure the composition was good by adjusting the size and placement of each person or object.

Then it was time to bust out the acrylic paints! I started with the background, blending from white to black. Next I started filling in George Washington Carver. Of the four men in the painting, three of them are from this area (Carver from Diamond, Hughes from Joplin, and Truman from Lamar). Working on him made me think back to all the trips I took as a kid to the Carver National Monument nearby. I was a little tentative when I first started working on the face, just because it’s been awhile since I did much with acrylics. But I soon remembered to just go with it. It seems the looser I paint, the better…

Below you can see the finished Mr. Carver. I’m really happy with how he turned out! I usually don’t make the areas the dark enough in my work, but I think I did this time.

Anyway, I’ve got a long way to go yet on this painting. I will post more photos of my progress as I go along.

Next up: Mark Twain!