The Process behind the mural at "Fathoms Restaurant"

In early spring of this year I was working on a friend's boat in the panhandle of Florida. The boat was docked in a marina on the Carrabelle river in the small town of Carrabelle . While I was living and working on the boat, I met a man who was opening a new restaurant, just down the street from the marina. Eric is a forty something business man, boat mechanic, musician, and soon to be restauranteur. While he was doing some work on my friend's boat , he told me about his new restaurant and invited me to the opening night.

After enjoying oysters and steamed shrimp, Eric showed me around the ,still not complete renovations, and told me about his plans for "Fathoms Restaurant" including live music, and an expanded menu. From previous conversations Eric knew I was an artist, so it was no surprise when I said, "Eric, what your restaurant needs is a mural." A big smile spread across his face and he said, "Ya, David, I think you're right." We agreed to meet the next night and I would show him some pastels I had been working on as samples of my work. After seeing the drawings he agreed for me to paint  a 14 foot mural on the outside east wall, under a protective roof. He said he wanted something depicting the Florida landscape. I said I would work on some sketches and get back with him.
With the verbal agreement , I now needed supplies. I dug out my Blick art supplies and ordered the paint and brushes I would need. It would take several days to arrive, but I could use that time to plan and sketch out my ideas.

I had in mind painting a seascape that included some boats common to the area, some pelicans and gulls. I wanted an early morning scene with calm waters, pink skies, reflections, and a single shrimp boat heading out to begin a day's work.

I started out by taking photographs in and around Carrabelle. I took photos of boats, trees and the shoreline from different angles. I would get up at sunrise and watch the pelicans glide inches from the surface of the calm waters. Then suddenly slam into the water with a splash and come up with a fish for the morning meal.

I tried photographing the gliding pelicans but they were too fast and too far away, so I took a pencil and drawing pad to do some quick sketches as they raced by.
 During one of my sunrise photo shoots I came upon this preening pelican. It was a foggy morning when he landed on a post and then methodically preened his feathers for about 15 minutes. I took about 20 photos but I fell in love with this quirky pose, and knew he would have a prominent place in the mural.
  After several days of photography, I went back to the restaurant and measured the exact length and height of the area for the mural. Using those measurements I drew a rectangle on drawing paper on a 1inch to 1 foot scale of the mural. Then combining different elements of my photographs, I drew the outline for the mural.

After getting approval from Eric on the final sketch, I divided the sketch into one inch squares . Then I primed the wall with white gesso and divided it into corresponding one foot squares. Drawing one square at a time, I transferred the drawing to the wall. By using this grid system I was able to keep everything in the right proportions.

With the drawing in place it was time to begin painting. I used acrylic paint mixed with acrylic medium. Working from dark to light I began adding color. Typically I fill in the whole space, then lighten or darken, or change colors as I progress.

Early in the process I thought about how I would frame the painting. One idea was to paint the edges as if looking out a window. But in order to maintain the illusion I would have to reduce the size of the preening pelican. I decided I liked the size he was, anchoring the right side.

Other options that came to mind was to paint a picture frame, or actually build a picture frame and mount it on the wall. I finally decided to build a bamboo frame and..... no not really, the bamboo frame is painted.
The shrimp boat was the subject of some controversy. In the process of painting, I blocked out the basic shape of the shrimp boat early on, but then left it to work on other parts of the mural. Eric related to me there was much discussion and criticism all ending with, "That doesn't look like a shrimp boat." Eric told me he assured them,"He's an 'aerteeest'. He's not done with it yet." He later told me that everyone was very happy with the finished shrimp boat.
If you look closely at the photograph picturing this row of boats, you will see that there is another boat to the left that I did not include in the painting. I just didn't feel it was interesting enough to be included. On the evening that the painting was completed, Eric's son asked me why wasn't his Dad's boat included, meaning the boat I left out.

Overall I enjoyed working on the project. Eric was very happy with the finished painting, and I had an excuse to stay a couple of extra weeks on my friend's boat.