Small and Simple Things

 

I believe that through small and simple things great things can be brought to pass.

A little over six years ago, I was approached to create a mural. I started working on it with an artistic fervor, but as things often turn out, for various reasons beyond mine and the clients control, the city never approved the project. I had a love for it and wanted to see something completed. So I continued to work on it. 2 weeks ago, after over 6 years of putting in 15 minutes here and and 20 minutes there, finding time between class prep, teaching, family, and other responsibilities I finally finished it. The illustration will now be on display for 9 months in the first ever Vermont State University Faculty Art Exhibit. 

It was through many small individual drawings small moments of time over many years that this came to pass.

The opening exhibit is in the Quimby Gallery at the VTSU Lyndon campus on Thursday, September 3 at 6:00. In October it will travel to Castleton, then Johnson in January, and will complete its tour of the campuses in Randolph in the spring.

Progress

There is great value to working on something slowly over time. Years ago I was asked to create a mural. As stated earlier, for various reasons this project had been sidelined (There is new hope that it will be seen on a wall). Despite the setbacks, I continued to work on it. I added a character here and there working on it a few minutes almost every day.  

Now, after years of small updates, the image is getting closer to being finished. Still not happy with the background colors of fall and summer and I still have a number of Vermont animals to add to the Fall section. but it is coming along.

I moved the grey fox to the winter portion and I am working on a new tractor to place in the Fall. I think it will be driven by a Labrador retriever. I am also trying to decide if the cow should be jumping over the moon (not sure if I want to go that cliche).

It feels good to have this much done.

Delayed Projects

A number of years ago, I was asked to create a mural for a local company. They wanted Vermont animals clad in bowties progressing through the seasons of the year! It was a dream come true and I dove into working on it. 

I had never done a mural before so I started by doing a bit of research on pricing and different ways of making a mural. I have a friend, Breadwig Ballinger, that has painted a number of murals, so I consulted with him about the project. I worked on a color rough draft to present to the town and the project got stalled. At the time the town was not approving any permanent outside art. 

It was difficult news to hear as this had become such a joy for me to work on. In response to the delay, I decided to keep working on the project as if it was going to happen. So I have slowly worked on the final illustration. It has become a passion project for me. I work on it in-between other jobs as it has evolved into a very complex composition.

I am not finished yet. I have finished winter (to the far right). I am almost finished with spring and I have started refining summer.

I do not know that I will ever see this on a wall, but I have enjoyed working on it. The process has been a wonderful challenge and I hope that it will someday be seen by many more people on a wall.