Road Trip

Taking off on a road trip Tuesday morning. First stop will be Furnace Creek campgrounds in Death Valley. Will spend until Friday morning there as part of a Landscape Photography class through Lake Tahoe Community College. Probably won't learn much photography since I'm already a "know it all", but hoping to find some choice spots to shoot from. More about this later. From there, it's over to Nevada and down to Las Vegas. There I will meet with Ron Donoho, a leading expert and collector of antique western law badges. He helped me with a college project back in '75, so thought I would thank him again. Then down to Phoenix to meet up with an old friend who will be at an art show in Carefree for the weekend showing his bronze sculptures. Will also hopefully hook up with another old friend who I use to work with back in San Diego. Then, down to Tucson to hook up with Sally, the person that put together the Colorado River rafting trip last year through the Grand Canyon. While there, another friend from the Air Force will let me "fly" a jet simulator. I use to instruct on a jet simulator in the old, pre-college days in the Navy. Got a feeling it will be like comparing an ox cart to a Corvette. Speaking of Corvettes, would like to drive mine, but taking too much stuff. Should be heading back to Tahoe after that, taking it easy along the way and enjoying the scenery (as long as I'm back by 4/13). That's a lot in less than two weeks.

Trompe l'Oeil Ceiling

Well, it's the end of the week again, and here is the latest creation. The dome ceiling is not what it appears (so what's new, John). It is actually a flat ceiling with a circular shape with a recessed light in the middle and a smoke detector. The painting is a trompe l'oeil effect to make it appear as a dome ceiling. The camera is at (or near) the optimum viewing point. If viewed from any of the other doorways around the peremeter, the effect is not so dramatic, though not disturbing. Painting it was a bit disturbing, but we think the final effect is spectacular. The outside of the smoke detector was painted to disappear. The two fireplace surrounds also came out looking very convincing.

The man of the house, James, is a retired fire chief and had to put on his dress uniform this final afternoon. A soldier from the area was killed in Iraq, and the fire departments from the area put a truck and firemen in dress uniforms on the various overpasses along the funeral procession on Hwy. 50. They will salute as the cars pass through. I think this is a fantastic effort of honoring the fallen soldiers.

Ceilings

Well, I'm on the road again and this time it includes a ceiling. It's a small, circular shaped ceiling that will (hopefully) look like the inside of a dome. A bit of a challenge. There are also two fireplaces involved. Not going to be giving progress pictures this time as I've already made major changes on the first day. Also tough on the neck. Might take some pictures, but we'll see.

This week I'm staying in a hotel. It is The Hawthorn Suites in Gold River. They are owned by Hyatt and it is a nice property. Got it for $59 per night through Expedia.com. Nice large room with separate seating area and a small kitchen with stove, refrigerator and dish washer. Guess I could cook in the room, but there is also a full breakfast downstairs included.

Took some pastels along last week and never touched them. Guess I was totally wrapped up in the job. Didn't bring any this time, but may wish I had. Life is full of internal conflict. Doing a photo oriented road trip next week, but should I take along something to draw with? Don't know yet, but may take some pastels. The photo part of the trip involves Death Valley which could also have some great drawing possibilities. Let me think about it.

For The Fans

Here it is, fans, your chance to watch a mural progressively being painted. Each day our production staff will post two pictures of the current mural project being painted in Rescue, CA. One will be from about mid-day, the other will be at the end of the day. Imagine the thrill of watching the progress, seeing the art develop without hear things like, "Now a happy little tree in front of our happy little mountain, etc.". Better yet, you've probably never heard of Rescue, CA. It's in the foothills between Placerville and Folsom, north of Highway 50. I really like the name of the fire department, "Rescue Fire Department". How appropriate.

UPDATE 3/19/08

Notice all the changes and additions. It's progressing along, and should be finished sometime tomorrow. You might notice that the background foothills changed, and the grapevines became larger. That happened on the second day.

UPDATE 3/20/08

Final mural at top of this article. Enjoy. Questions?

Trailer Life

I'm find living in a travel trailer, especially a small one, while on the road takes some adjusting. After all, how often can you fry up some eggs while taking a shower? Not really, but close. Advantages are numerous as well. Besides the obvious of cheaper on a per day basis, there is also the lack of having a maid in your room during the day. Or is that a disadvantage? Being able to cook your own meals is good, but also available in some hotel rooms. I found that gas mileage is a negative. After a long trip to Palm Springs back in December, I kept track and found I got 10 mpg. Thought that was pretty bad, but then just read in Consumer Reports that the mileage on an F-150 is around 13 without a trailer. Need to check my own sometime soon. I broke down and bought a small tv for the trailer a few days ago. It is now found atop the fridge on the left in the picture. That helps with the boredom. Guess I could wander around more and meet my neighbors, but since I'm usually only there for a few days, that seem counterproductive. Except some of the people are there for extended periods, and I do go back to some of the parks.

Guess I'll continue for awhile. Makes buying the trailer seem like a good idea. Using it once a year for a few days at Burning Man was not a good investment. Now I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

Pillars of Joy

Here is part of last week's job. Did four columns and a fireplace surround. The job was in Elk Grove, south of Sacramento.

I was staying at an RV park in South Sac, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Interesting location with some interesting fellow travellers, though most weren't traveling much nowadays. At $450 a month plus utilities, it is an economical alternative to house payments. Just a little confining. It is, however, a gated community. The sirens during the night reminds one of the reality beyond the gates.

I'm in Tahoe for this weekend, then back on the road Monday morning down to the Placerville area (Rescue, CA). Will be staying at KOA Placerville for the week.

A Bit of Italy

Here is last weeks mural and faux finish. Nice retired couple in Lincoln (north of Roseville, CA). They enjoyed watching me paint the murals and faux. Guess I should be used to people watching, though it is still a bit intimidating.

Working on some faux finish marble effects this week. Just heard from my friend and helper Bonnie. She just got back from Costa Rica. Nice.

The Eagle Soars

Here are a couple of shots of a mural I did last week. This home is in a blue collar, older neighborhood in Sacramento. I was suprised when the client called back after discussing the proposal with her husband. They wanted to do the mural in a room that his father (87) will be staying in, pretty much bedridden. I know they don't have a lot of money, so I gave a very competitive price. I was very impressed that they wanted to make the room very comfortable for someone who will be spending a lot of time there, and were willing to make the investment.