I hav been very lucky throughout my career so far and especially during Covid 19 but I do think luck lands with those who keep themselves out there making, meeting, and collaborating with others. 2+ years into Covid and I was fortunate that my friend and Designer Leslie Curtis thought of me and the idea of a mural in Pascal Hall in Rockport, Maine- Built in 1850 this Baptist Church has always stood out near the shores of Rockport Harbor. The new owner of the building has a love of the Arts and Culture with this space to be used for visiting writers to work and share their creations. We are both lovers of NC Wyeth and other Maine Art and this would guide us on our collaboration on this 15’ x 31’ mural project.
For over 2 months a group of 5 of us met and discussed what the mural would and could be. Overly ambitious at first, as all good projects are, we slowly pared back the design to be an inspired history painting from 1850 until present focusing on the harbor and Pascal Hall. Even limiting ourselves to nine specific historic references this proved quite the task as my personal goal was too great a work of Art and not just a history “placemat”. I wanted a composition that draws you in and weaves you through and around this inspired landscape. I needed this to be a painting that would stand the test of time.
An early sketch and the clients desire to add the Rockport Opera House to the design. A lime barge was removed from the lower right harbor scene to give way for the cultural house that would reference Mary Louis Bok’s influence on Rockport.
Starting to sketch! I used the grid method to transfer the drawing to allow for a more painterly approach to the work in general.
In an effort to see the overall design better I painted the background color as it set off the “canvas” area.
With May 2022 originally slated to start drawing and painting some other schedule issues allowed me to start in April and I took advantage of getting the ball rolling as I knew what I estimated to be a 10 month project would be a long and testing adventure.
So here we go and I hope you check back in as things progress.