Another Mega-Mural getting fired up!

Q: When does a 'painting' become a 'Project'?

A: When it spans over 1280 square feet and chronicles the rich farm life and times of the vibrant community of Young, Saskatchewan! 

In 2010, the Village of Young, SK celebrated an important milestone in its history: it's 100th birthday! Not a community that lets things like this go unrecognized,  the town marshaled its resources to host a huge homecoming party and also to commission commemorative artwork to celebrate the occasion.

Three community  members  of Young who spear-headed the commemorative artwork project pose with the original approved artwork in its rough sketch form.

Once the design was approved, it was my job to create a formal pen and ink rendering that could be used as the artwork to be reproduced in the form of a limited edition print which was offered for sale at the big homecoming as a fundraiser to generate the capital required to proceed with the mural project.

One of the main organizers shown presenting a shrink-wrapped, archival-quality reproduction of the original artwork at the 100th Birthday Homecoming. The original pen & ink is hanging on the wall behind her.

I participated in the unveiling of the original pen and ink drawing which ended up being over five feet in length. That's a pretty big pen and ink, especially considering the immense amount of intricate detail. 

The formats that were presented at the Homecoming included a 'bistro' style reproduction, which is printed on canvas and then stretched over a wooden frame for a ready-to-hang convenience.

Once the artwork was approved and finished, I mocked up a rendering of the mural situated in position mounted on the wall of the Young Hockey Rink to show the scale of the finished piece. This early design is monochromatic. The actual mural will be painted in full-color, which will be an entirely different ball game!

Computer-generated version of what the mural might look like on the wall. 

Last night I attended a meeting of the planning committee to work out some of the final details prior to starting to fabricate, construct, lay out and paint the mural. I cannot say enough about the good will and integrity of the committee members. They are a great group to work with and we are collectively enthusiastic and excited about the project. I will be filing regular progress reports over the coming weeks as this ambitious project proceeds. In about two or three weeks we will be setting up a mural-painting studio inside the hockey rink at Young where I will build a temporary wall on which to mount the panels in order to proceed. 


The projected completion date is early June. I have a LOT of painting to do between now and then which I am looking forward to diving into with my usual energy and enthusiasm.

I created a 'legend' that corresponds with the design  for identification of all of the elements in their historic context.

Want to see more of my murals? Check this link.


Cheers!