All Done

The mural is up. Our family typically will write messages on construction projects in a place that will be covered up. Stephen writing to his wife Rosie and their dog Max before the frame went on.

You can see the protective film that came on the Lexan. The black frame is 1/2 x 2 inch solid aluminum bar, with a black textured powder coat.

Here Nelson is peeling off the protective film. This was the last chore. By this time all the tools and equipment were put away, the floors had been swept and vacuumed, We were ready to call it "done".

Here's the finished work. There isn't any lighting on it yet that is still being designed by a lighting engineer. Because the painting is 18 inches off the floor there will be a a 22 inch high guard rail installed about three feet away from the painting to protect it. Whew, all done!

Trimmed and Ready To Set

The time for Nelson to place his signature on the painting

. Here we are getting ready to lift the painting and place it in the wall. Several of the construction workers there were kind enough to help.

There was a lot of weight in the support system, the men figured about 700 lbs.

It fit, that was another concern. Actually the opening was 1/4 inch to small but with a little gerrymandering, it went in just fine.

Placing the first frame piece. The frame is very simple. Leonardo DaVinci said that simplicity is the essence of sophistication. The frame finishes but does not detract from the painting at all, so I hope DaVinci would approve.

Th Process Continues

Michael wiping down the Masonite to make sure there is no dust.

We unrolled the mural, now comes the "do or die" part. All the months of work are put on the line now. Nelson used an archival fabric glue. Several tests were done at the studio in Sandpoint with excellent results but never with a piece this big. The glue's drying time is about 15 minutes so it was critical that it lay smooth without bubbles . Nelson and Stephen spread the glue with what look like big combs from the hardware store so that the spread was even and thin. We then unrolled the painting and used linoleum rollers to press the painting. No pictures of that part of the process because we were working under such a strict time limit. Michael and I were pressing and flattening out air bubbles.

The process gave us a real scare. After working one piece of the painting and moving on to the next we found huge bubbles forming. Because the glue was wetting the paper we were having all kinds of issues. It seemed like all those months of work were about to go up in smoke.

Nelson and I working on the bubbling. We just kept telling each other it would be alright. After about an hour and a half we left for lunch and hoped that as the painting dried that it would respond like the stretching process Nelson goes through before he starts a painting, which wets the paper and as it dries it becomes very taunt. We were truly blessed the painting dried beautifully, tight as a drum just as it should have.

The Project Continues

Someone came past and commented they liked my style of management.

Stephen and Nelson getting ready to put the Masonite on the plywood base. The Masonite was donated by DEC Panels. Nelson worked with a great contact Tim Boerst.

Putting on the Masonite.

The airport provided concrete blocks and sandbags to weigh down the Masonite. This dries for a few hours while we go into Jackson and look at some of the great art galleries and for Michael, a few slices of Great Harvest Bread.

We're There

Our son's Stephen and Michael came to Jackson to help with the install. Boy was I grateful they were there. Nelson considered just having the two of us, that would have been a BIG mistake! Even with all the test runs and trials we still had a few surprises in store for us as the installation progressed. Stephen owns his own company www.millcreekremodels.com in Salt Lake City and scheduled time off work to come and help. He is a master with his tools and is an incredible problem solver. Michael produces documentaries but he loves hard physical labor and being with the family. Truly we could not have done it without them. Here's Stephen walking into the airport.

Nelson and Michael unloading the truck. What took hours and hours to prepare to load and load only took a few minutes to unload. Isn't that so typical?

Ahh... slave labor.

Protection for the floor in front of where the mural will be hung. We built the frame right there on the floor of the airport. Everyone was very accommodating and I loved people stopping to visit and view the work.
Building the framework that will hold first, a layer of plywood then non-acidic Masonite.

A Trip to Jackson Hole

The truck getting ready to leave for installing the mural in the new Jackson Hole Airport. The new airport is a jewel, a great marriage of rustic and high tech. The architect Brent Mather did a fabulous job designing inside and out.
It took Nelson hours to prepare each piece of the of the framing system. Everything had to be wrapped in waterproof material and a system needed to be developed to load each piece on the back of a truck bed that wasn't long enough.

Several of the frame pieces came through the small back window of the truck and through to the front seat.

Everything was wrapped in tarps after the truck was loaded and bungee cords were used to make sure everything was tied down and wouldn't shift. The weather was great and the trip down was uneventful if you don't consider the incredible beauty of Montana and the Big Sky Country. We love driving, and seeing the beauty of the country that we feel so grateful to live in. It is truly art that inspires.

Something Fun Comes to Light

So the Star Wars people wanted to put together a book of one hundred artist depicting Star Wars in their own genre'. Nelson was ask to participate. The book was released last week. This is the cover of the book. I really like this painting by Masey. It is a wonderful piece.

Here is a friend modeling for "Maverick Bounty Hunter". It's was dull dreary weather with no chance for any outside shooting so we set up the lighting in the studio and put him up on Nelson's painting table (a good angle for photographing.). It was pretty precarious for him because he really is lunging foward with quite a bit of speed.

Here is the finished product. I wish you could see the detail. The metal shin guards are my favorite. George Lucas was first attracted to the shining light saber in Maverick's right hand. So how does a bounty hunter get hold of a light saber was the question Nelson ask George Lucas. The answer, "He's killed a Jedi."

test

Can't seem to load anything so we are testing

He's been busy but I haven't blogged

This is a mock-up of the fish arch . Nelson has decided to add a few more of the silver fish to the pattern, they read better. He is also grinding stipes and design into the fish with color. It is really going to be a great project. The footings aren't in yet so it looks like the project won't go up until Spring, we were hoping it would be in before Christmas. The night back lighting will be really nice and would have been fun through the cold winter months here in the north country.

Nelson is also working on some nice commission work with his watercolors. We are doing some photo shoots this week with the nice weather in preparation for those.

FISH

The first cut fish for the Sandpoint Arch were done today. Nelson picked up the first 30 of over 90 this morning. I had him lay down to give you some idea of scale.

Here is one close up.

The red stop sign fish have great color.

Nelson has put some proposals together for other fun public art projects. I'll keep you posted if he is chosen for the commissions.