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Mural Site:
Canal's End Antiques
327 Mill Street
Bristol, PA 19007
Towards the end of January, I was asked by a friend if I would be interested in painting a mural for one of their friend's new store. It so happened that his friend wanted a mural painted on this specific wall before the store opened on February 5th. The request was then asked of me - and not turning down any art project - I embarked on meeting the owner of the new antique store in Bristol and scaling up the potential wall I would be working with. I was given a week and a reference photo of a particular scene that she wanted to be presented. Remarkably, I finished the mural in just under 11 hours, with 5 different colors of house paint, and brushes ranged in size from 1 inch wide to 2.5 inches wide. So here's how I did it:
Monday, January 28th
I met with Susan, the owner of Canal's End, who showed me the wall behind her front desk that she wanted the mural to go on. There was a mural previously painted on the wall that was freshly covered in a new layer of primer, the perfect canvas for a new mural. The wall measured in at 9 feet wide and 6 feet tall, an impressive 54 square feet that needed to be painted.
I have never nearly painted something quite this size, actually no where near this size. Nor have I ever used house paint to complete a project with such detail and accuracy. But if I learned anything with my undergrad studio art education, you never shy away from the unknown. You embrace it, you learn through the process, and you will succeed with a little bit of faith and a lot of dedication.
So, agreeing on the project and learning the timeline for the deadline, I headed over to Lowes and grabbed 5 quarts of different colors. Ranging from a sky blue to a deep brown/green, I got a golden yellow for the highlights, a pale gray, and a light green for all the in-betweens. As well as paint I grabbed brushes - big to small, hard to soft.
Tuesday, January 29th
The mural has begun. I expected to tape and draw out the mural and that be the end of my first session, but the timing worked out that paint was applied on the first session. Just the general idea and layout of the mural began with some base coats and red chalk lines and mid-tone colors. Multiple base coat layers had to be applied to get the full coverage over the primer coat below.
Thursday, January 31st
Starting the morning early with a day off from work, I jumped on the opportunity to get into the store and add as much as possible to the entire scene before heading to night class later in the afternoon. It was fascinating to watch as the scene came to life with many of the details forming and just small features waiting for a few layers to dry over night before adding another layer. The progress that I made between Tuesday and Thursday truly fascinated me, I was doing exactly what all my studio teachers taught me to do. I was running through the entire canvas, keeping things equal throughout the entire scene. This way it's easier to see what is unequal and where more progress needed to be made.
Friday, February 1st
I expected my final paint day to be Saturday, during the morning. However, it worked out that Friday was the day I finished painting this monster with almost six hours dedicated to completing it. The details in the background was added, the leaves of the trees were blended and formed, the pathway of the mule and owner was finished, the base and top coats with details on the mule and owner, the reflection of the canal's water service, and the tape was pulled off. The mule was changed this day, a tree was taken out of the original reference photo, and my signature was added after taking the final picture.
We had a few, minor setbacks. The heat in the building came to a halt and the coldest day in history happened to fall on the one day I was working with details in the mural. So, when house paint becomes cold, it thickens up and becomes nearly impossible to spread and blend. Now, it's to my awareness that I could have added water to thin the water-base paint (go figure).
Regardless, I finished in what I thought was record timing for what I was even capable of doing. It was exciting and challenging but I wouldn't change the experience for anything else.
As of yesterday, February 5th, the store is open for business! Go take a look at it all, not just the mural but the awesome vendors that are sharing their antiques for sale in the store! There are collectables of all sizes, furniture pieces, vintage jewelry and so much more.
Here are some pages of the stores to follow and check out:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canalsendantiquestore/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanalsEndAntiques/
Thanks for reading! I can't wait to share another story with you all soon!
With love,
Tori
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