Art on the Trail

Michael says I only post about the kids. I admit I've been trying to create a bond for the grandparents. I guess there is also a Michael and Mindy in the Walker bit mix.

Recently an old railroad track was cleaned up and paved to create a path that runs along the edge of our neighborhood. It was really great, very beautiful to go out walking with the kids or biking with the hubby on our date nights. Not long after it was finished though, graffiti starting taking over, especially at the end in a tunnel. A committee over the project scrubbed out what they could, primed over the cement and asked the community for volunteers to paint murals on the tunnel panels. I heard about this shortly after I had Maeleya. My nephew painted one of the panels (Brady). I'm sure every new mom puts "paint a mural" at the top of their list in the first months with baby. I thought it would be fun to attempt though, not every opportunity comes at ideal times! I do a lot with the computer for my design work, but I thought it would be fun to get out in nature and hold a paint brush.




Here is the model -cute man that can look like a gentleman with a touch of humor, just what I wanted. (Hey Rachel, is that money dangling from the umbrella?)




I love that I can ask him to wear a suit coat and a top hat and hold an umbrella without him asking a lot of questions. Years of being married I guess.


Here is the sketch:



Here is the final:


The cardinal is for the lady head of the committee, it's her favorite bird.


Two times while painting, deer strolled down the path to say hello and nod at the work.


Isn't it great that my mikey's profile is painted into cement, hee hee. If the kids ever cross this path as adults, they can drop by and say hello to the man on the wall.

Two true stories. Michael's intern year we spent in the heart of a city. Every day a man past by around fiveish on a unicycle in a suit. Every week I'd see a lady walking several birds. Yes I typed that right. At least that's what it appeared to be. A lady holding a large ring with birds perched on it strolling around the block. I didn't remember those images until after I had made the sketch, but I'm thinking they came out subconsciously. All those things you see surface at some point.

I'm so glad it got done before the snow came!