Patch Notes

9-27-08 8-29-08- Tommy and I spend a wonderful afternoon together gathering our harvest...we each selected our favorites to pose with. My back says we gathered over 250.

Organic Vessels gourd patch

April 10th-Thursday-o8- Planted 24 gourd hills at the shop in Hamilton. Seeds from gourds purchased from Welburn gourd farm in CA where used. (Bottle necks & Kettle's) I plowed several passes to break the soil to almost powder. 4 seeds in each hill.

(9-10-08) Thursday- I have been so busy I have not checked the patch in a while. To my surprise.....many where ready to be pulled. This is done when the vine is dead and the stem is brown. Over whelming joy struck me to find my Bottle-necks the same or larger than the original gourd the seeds where cleaned from.

I stopped gathering when a 2 day old fawn was flushed from a nap. He had been nestled by 3 Kettle gourds. I'm so happy that others are enjoying the patch. I only wish I had the camera out to capture the spotted baby.

Guin AL Mural project

Completed
I decided to sign my work with a brush that the brick took it's tole on.....
Interesting night shot....I was returning from Hamilton after a long day....

Bill Pope....Tony was hiding behind the wall....

There is Tony and Bill hard at work on the cap.

These are the before photos:

After day 1:

End of Day 2

End of day 2-whole bldg.

9-27-08 Sorry for now updating the news about the mural updates in awhile. I have been blessed with busy. I am happy to say the wall is complete. Pope Roofing worked a hard 3 days to complete the new cap on the wall. While they where busy replacing mortar and brick to the top of the wall, I was commissioned by Mr. Hollis to paint a mural at the front of his church.

Since I'm new to blogging.....I think it is easier for me and readers to have the updates first...so I have changes the order up some.

Many asked what happened. Upon meeting with Mayor Segraves it was decided to make a few changes and additions. The missing mortar in the third arch was distracting. The City workers patched the same day. Making sure the mortar cured I waited til 9-8 to do the revision.

I'm so pleased to have the 3rd arch repaired. The sky in this arch was darkened. I learned that morning brick works better for blending then 90 degree afternoon brick. Capstones or Keystones where added to the top of each arch and shadowed with shark-skin color.
Second (third in some spots) coats of Garlic Clove was painted on the Trim at 7' and at the base. This made the lines crisper and helped the shading. Shadow was added to these areas to give the impression of curved molding.

* Mayor Segraves mentioned getting ready for 2 more murals. One by the Support the troops flag(done in 91 during the Gulf War) The flag will remain and I'm sketching out designs to honor our Veterans that will be on the left of the flag.
**The Cap is scheduled for repair this week.(weather permitting) darn Ike....After the cap repair the canyon stone will be cut in to meet the new metal. I'm very excited to see the completion.

Before:

Approved sketch:

I've been commissioned by the City of Guin to paint a mural downtown. I am so excited about the project and the feed-back has been great. I started priming the wall on August 15th. I used a paint crew sprayer and this step when quicker than anticipated.
I selected canyon stone as the base coat. I matched this up with the brick in the existing fountain area.

This was the end of day 1 of painting.( 8-15-08) I have received 2 bids on getting the roof cap repaired. Pittsburg sun-proof paint is what I've been using and the coverage is wonderful.

This is a photo from the end of day 2. (8-18-08) Garlic clove semi-gloss is what was selected for the mouldings and framing the aches. I am very pleased how the sheen add to the depth of the design. The holes in the wall are at 12'. They are from the old rafters from the building that use to stand in front of this one. By incorporating them in the design it blends them in ( my opinion)
End of day 3- ( 8-19-08) Shading and sky added. The fore-ground of basil pesto is a base color to build the gardens in front of. I am anxious to add the detail. At the present time it resembles a golf course.(ha ha). I have found it troublesome blending colors on brick, especially on hot days. The paint grabs and doesn't blend well when hot. I work with arcylics allot and have gotten use to working fast. but I'm not use to working this fast.

The feed-back on the wall thus far has been wonderful. So many people are excited to see the improvements down town. (Kudo's to Mayor Segraves)

End of day 4-(8-21-08) Blocked in bronco brown for the walk-way thru the arches. Lime green shrubs were also blocked in. There are now 4 trees that will have more shading added. In case anyone was wondering of the white spot in the center... this is my vanishing point. I duct taped a string to use as a guide in the perspective. I will be using this to add the details in the walk-way.

Day 6-(8-25-08) started painting at 6:30 and was able to do some detailing before the rain ran me off. I cleaned up the trim that is at 7' and added shadowing to make it look like molding. The Terra cotta planters will have fir trees and the lime shrubs will have lilies, hostas and rose bushes in front of them. I'm thinking of also added some crape myrtles mingled around.

I painted the holes in the arches to help hide the fact they are holes today too. This is the first time I've painted during Tornado warnings....I really don't recommend it.

Day 7- (8-27) arrived early to wash the debris that splattered the bottom part. Today I added Hostas, an iron bench, and guidelines for the walk-way. I have discovered that the hotter the day the harder to blend. The brick heats up around 4:00 and new techniques have to be used to achieve the shading I desire.

This is a closer view showing the bench and the crape myrtle.

Day 8 & 9 (8-28 & 8-29) The city workers have done a wonderful job sprucing up downtown. While working on the wall I have noticed them blowing off the sidewalks, moving, and adding the flags and banners. They have really freshened up downtown for Labor Day. (Looks wonderful)

Day 8- Added another Fir tree to the planter in the foreground. Another bench, hostas and more Crape Myrtles where added. I also did a trial on the wood planks to see if additional colors where needed. I was happy the selections I made where fine.

Day 9- The board walk was added and really helped the perspective. Licorice(color) was used to establish the sides of the boards. Bronco Brown, Georgian leather, whiskers, and warm wassail were thinned and layered strokes to resemble wood grain. I had to keep in mind not to get to detailed on the smooth section so I could keep uniformity on the rough section. This has been true though out.

This photo shows the walk-way detail. I'm planning to add another Hosta, Lily's, and roses Saturday.
This is Saturday morning (8-30) before I get set up. I'm getting excited because I can see the finish line. I hope to get news on Tue. regarding the repair of the cap. I'm also pondering sealers.
End of Day 10 (8-30) I was able to complete the gardens today. Rose's, lily's, and a few more crape myrtles. I had many visitors today and all expressed how much they enjoy seeing the improvements to downtown. There was a live feed from a radio station at the outdoors store and the city was bustling. My Husbands Aunt and cousins visited and I couldn't resist taking a Labor Day week-end photo of them. Thanks Ruby for the peppers and jelly. (yum) They seemed to enjoy searching for names in the bricks and getting misted from the sprinklers. I made a new friend...She kept me company a few days on the wall. Very sweet dog. I wish I could have brought her home. The wall is almost complete. Once the cap is repaired I plan to cut in canyon stone to have the design complete. Once again I would like to thank everyone who supported me in this project. I look forward to many more.