Delivery Day

We took the train table backdrop out to Port Orchard and delivered it to its new home.  At first we were thinking that we couldn't fit the kids and the boards in the car at the same time, but then I remembered that I had done it once before, so we squeezed everybody in.  (Both kids have grown a bit in the interim two years, requiring  more squeezing this time.)

The backdrop is a present for Jerry from his wife Sylvia.  They are also the owners of The Cupboard Under the Stairs.



When I took the boards out for the initial "setting the scene," I was able to prop them up on a little lip that ran around around the back side of the table.  I was planning to do that again--set the boards up and take some pictures.  But when we got there it turned out that the lip was gone, so there wasn't anything to prop the boards on.  (Sylvia told me that they had to move the table over the summer when they had some water damage in that room and had to re-carpet.)  So I don't have any pictures of the boards on the table yet.  But we did line them up on the floor and admire them. 

Sylvia got a couple of the neighbors to come over, and we were standing there looking at the painting and discussing how part of it reminded them of Cambria, California where they used to live (I didn't know I was painting California) when Jerry came home a little earlier than expected.  He walked into the train room where we were all standing, and Sylvia kind of gasped and said, "Oh!  You're back!"  Then the neighbor said, "Hey Jerry, we were just checking out your train table--it's got a big crack in it!  You're going to have to fix this.  Come take a look at it."

Jerry walked over and  bent over the train table, not even noticing the backdrop at first.  We all started laughing, and then he backed up and looked down and saw it. 



(Jerry's reaction... Awww!)

The train table is kind of a work in progress (it needs more trees and things--and that white stuff that you can see in the photo is some repair work from the move).  It'll be fun to see what Jerry does with it now that he's got the backdrop to pull it all together.



Sylvia said they got the boards all mounted. I'll have to go back out soon and get some more pictures. In the meantime here are a couple of details from the painting.



I remember my roommate Julie using the term "post-performance adrenaline rush." (She was a ballet dancer.) I get that feeling from finishing a big project. Now I want to paint something else!

Train Table Backdrop--Complete!

Yes, I have decided that it's finished! Yay! (And there was much rejoicing.)  I took all the pieces outside and got some pictures, in today's obligingly-not-rainy-but-nicely-overcast weather.






(I think my color balance is just a bit off... a little too blue, maybe?)

It occurred to me that I could add up all the audiobooks I listened to while painting  and figure out how long it took, except that I listened to them while I wasn't painting, too, so that doesn't really work.  I've had this project in the works for two years, but actual painting happened on and off over about fifteen months. (Slightly longer than The Cupboard Under the Stairs.)   Painting at home is complicated.  And now I'm done just in time to take the extra leaf out of the kitchen table so we can make room for a Christmas tree!



And here's the whole thing all stitched together. Eighteen feet long!  I'm not sure exactly when we're going to take it out to Port Orchard and get it set up, but I'll be sure to get pictures of that too.

Art Appreciation

(Andy wants to help.)

I think I may have finished painting today. I need to set it all up and look at it in the cold hard light of tomorrow, but it is quite possible that I am all done. (As long as I can resist the urge to mess with clouds.)  Being done would be good right now--I do have other things that I need to do. (I did get a little de-cluttering done today... Yay!)

Doug and Kate are making homemade pasta.  Some of the noodles have green food coloring in them.  We can pretend they're braaaaaains.

madronas

I decided I should add some madronas in with all these conifers.

discovery painting

I've been enjoying listening to the Writing Excuses podcast (with Brandon Sanderson and company). One of the things that they talk about is the difference between outline writers and "discovery writers." I've come to realize that part of the reason this train table backdrop is taking so long is that it's basically an exercise in discovery painting.



I started out with a general idea of the lay of the land, but that was about it. I'm not always so good at coming up with things out of my head. If I have a picture I can make this look like that, but for most of this I've been flying pretty blind.  (I did have a photo of Mt. Rainier which I put to good use, as well as some crepuscular rays for reference.)  So mostly I just mess around with it and see how it turns out. It's been fun but it's quite different from the way I usually work.  I put in some hills in the background, then decide they need to be lighter and bluer. I spend a couple of hours dropping in hundreds of little trees on a hillside, and then realize that it's too detailed for how far away it's supposed to be. I've been putting in some rocky bits to match the hills on the train table, but I've discovered that "rocky" is not really my strong suit. Keeping the color and perspective consistent across eighteen feet has proved a little tricky, as well.



This little section has been keeping me busy for the past few days.



It doesn't look much like I'd imagined it, but it works. It's still not quite done. (The tree is going to have a swing in it, too.)

I wasn't entirely happy with the landscape in Scott's mural, and I was hoping I could make this one work better. I think for the most part it's come together nicely. I do have some good ideas about what I would do differently next time--more detailed sketches to start with, and possibly a small scale painting, to try things out. (More pre-mixed-up colors in larger amounts would be helpful, too.) I've started keeping a mural reference board on pinterest, with some ideas that I hope I might be able to use later. I especially like the misty lighting effects.

This has been a long project! I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like all put together on the train table. That should be very cool.

Speaking of Writing Excuses, a recent episode featured my brother Peter (Brandon's assistant), and Patrick Rothfuss's assistant Valerie, talking about what their jobs are like.  I'm probably biased but I thought it was great fun.

and still more painting

I painted five days a week for the past three weeks. Yay! Making progress.

A few details:





I finished listening to The Name of the Wind today. Next up will probably be White Cat, by Holly Black. My brother Peter said he enjoyed it a lot, despite a rather egregious plot hole.

painting painting painting

I've been able to paint every day this week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I think working on the Mod Prom decorations got me back in the mood. I want to get this done soon and I feel like I can. My goal at this point is Father's Day.






Doug is home in the afternoon this quarter, so he can get Andy down for a nap. That helps! After lunch I clear off the table, set up my painting stuff, turn on my audio book of The Name of the Wind, and get in the zone. At least for a little while. Mostly I've only been able to work for about an hour and a half at a time, but if I can do that every day, I should be done in a few weeks. I feel like it's going well!

Happy Little Trees

What I've been working on today.

painting, so far

Making slow progress on the train table backdrop.

I've got things down to a science. I can fit two of the big boards on our kitchen table at a time, hanging off the ends. I keep my brushes in a jar of water and don't bother to wash them in between. I have a bunch of little containers with colors mixed up so I don't have to keep messing with that. The actual painting part has been pretty hit-and-miss, though. I can paint while Andy's asleep, and after he wakes up I can keep him contained in his highchair with a snack and a video. Some days it just doesn't work out. Andy hasn't been napping well this week, and seems crankier than usual. I think I've gotten about one hour of painting done all week. This is not good.



I've discovered the overdrive audiobooks at the library. I don't know how these had previously escaped my attention. Since my painting-outside-idea didn't work out so well, I've just been listening to them on the computer while I work. I enjoyed the first six Artemis Fowl books. (Doug says they seem to be full of techno-babble and overly detailed action sequences. I suppose this is true, but the narrator is very good.)



The sunset was looking pretty cool but there was something about it that wasn't quite right, so I've been re-working it.

We had a talent show at church last Friday. I took my unfinished painting. This was the first time I'd had all the pieces together. It was kind of disheartening to see how much I still have left to do.



(This was right at the end, after they started setting up chairs for a training meeting the next morning.)

Yeah, I'm a little stressed about this. But I think it'll be very cool when it's done, and it'll look great on the train table.

Purple Mountain

I've been trying to sneak in some painting time during Andy's nap. This is not easy, but I think I'm developing a system. Slow and steady!

en plein air

I've been painting outside!



Finally got started on the model train backdrop. Doug goes back to work in two weeks, so I'm trying to get as much done as I can before then. I've set up shop on the back porch.



Getting a nicely blended sky across eighteen feet of plywood takes some work.



I don't think there's any way I could work on this in the house, with Andy running around and climbing on things and "helping." Painting outside is also not without its hazards, as I find myself flicking stray aphids off the boards, or scrambling to move everything when the sprinklers come on unexpectedly. (Yep, that happened. It was like some cruel joke. They never turn the sprinklers on during the day.)

After this I may relocate to Rebecca's basement and see how much I can get done on Saturdays. I'm also getting an MP3 player so I can listen to audiobooks while I paint.

setting the scene

Yesterday we (the kids and I) went out to Port Orchard and set up the primed plywood on the train table so I could sketch out some ideas.



It turns out my boards are just a teeny bit too wide to fit in the space. I need to take about 3/8" off one edge.

(Please note: the backdrop is a surprise, so if you know the owner of the train table, please don't say anything!)

Next I get to start actually painting! Exciting!

eighteen feet of plywood

Guess what this is?



It's my new painting project! I'm doing a backdrop for a model train table. 18 feet long (in five panels) and 27 inches high.

This will be different because I'm going to be working on it at home. I suspect I probably won't be able to get much done when Doug's not here, so it may be a very slow process. It doesn't have to be done till Christmas, but I figured I'd better get it started as soon as possible. It might actually take me that long.



I got the primer on yesterday. Kate wanted to help. This turned out to be not such a great idea after all. Messy.

Doug said, "I reckon there ain't one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it's got to be done." (Well, okay, that's not exactly what he said--I had to look it up--but he was pretty close.)

I'm excited about painting again! I haven't done anything since Barb's giraffe. I'm going to do some cool stuff with clouds.