The finished mural is 4 ft x 8 ft.

I’m switching from watercolor to oils as I paint a 4′ x 8′ wall mural for the new Washington County Library. I accepted the commission because as a child I was strongly [...]

I met today with Douglas Alder, the Chairman of the Washington County Library Board, and Brenda, the library director, to go over the initial sketches for the library paintings. They were pleased [...]

I ordered Claessons Oil primed Belgian linen and mounted it on a tempered masonite panel using Demco’s archival adhesive. I then hung the panel on the wall of my frame shop. I used a red [...]

When my outline drawing is established, I begin work on the figures first to establish their main values, leaving the background buildings for later. Once the figures are almost complete I will [...]

The figures are now pretty well established, so I move on to the background. I rub in a thin underglaze of burnt sienna on the buildings to establish an even value. While I’m confident in [...]

I do a little more fiddling with the figures, changing the look of the girl on the left. I then move on to the background and buildings. On top of the red underglaze I begin to build up the [...]

I enjoyed the process of working big. And it was fun to get back into oils again. The finished painting ready to be hauled to the library and installed in the main entrance.