Step by step story of bookstore mural--III--unfinished?

From this on Friday morning: That's a big daunting wall. After taping off the wall, the sky is first.

To this on Saturday evening--a long two days--that may be a little "unfinished" yet.

What you see are photos of my West Texas mural for Burrowing Owl Bookstore's "Back 40" children's reading area in the second store, in Amarillo, which opened this past week.

I learned a lot doing this two-day painting, especially on mixing colors and processes. Someday when I get back, I'd like to improve a few items. First, the bison are too small, and needed to be bigger. And perhaps the vultures too. There might be a burrowing owl added, but that's up to my Daughter Dallas' approval. I also think the yuccas, and shadows could be bettered.  The Texas flag needs to have a little blue and red added at the bottom. Picky, picky.

As you get through these photos, you'll notice some details that changed as I went along.

Since my grid was originally for an 8-foot tall wall, not 10, we just painted the bottom two more green because there would be chairs or tables or something in front.

You can barely see the grid at first, so I went over it with brown paint which shows near the bottom of the wall later.

Even though this was opaque paint, I couldn't have done it without my experience in the process of watercolor painting, and that influence shows.

At the end of both days, about 9 to 6, I was pooped. And sore, from stooping to mix and climbing up and down that ladder.

• There is a lot of green. Dallas wanted it more colorful. Color always win, and West Texas needs the rain!
• The road was a mistake, so I painted it over. I thought it was too light, but Todd said it looks just like caliche. Yep.
•  I was going to paint the cloud first, but ran into real trouble getting a good gray. It was one of last things painted, other than the white outline. Dallas' advice helped a lot on color mixing. The gray in the finished cloud, and lots of other shadow work were among the last subjects painted.
•  Notice all the mixing trays, and colors. What an experiment.
• Notice all the post it notes. Those were my notes to myself the second day, of things to do to finish up.
• Lots of those were the details, like barb wire, windows flowers and the  windmill, the "calligraphy," as I've heard artists talk about the last steps.
• I spent most of a morning on the iconic  Lighthouse in Palo Duro canyon. It still tilts a bit, but not as much as earlier. Maybe there was an earthquake?

Story of a bookstore mural--II

14' x 8' mural for Burrowing Owl Books, Amarillo, after two -plus days' work

How do you paint something this big, I wondered, as I traveled to Amarillo on a mid-September Thursday? In watercolor, I think in terms of inches of paper size, not feet.

"The Back 40," Burrowing Owl Books, Amarillo

Daughter and son-in-law Dallas and Todd Bell have just opened Burrowing Owl Bookstores' second location, in Amarillo, and wanted a West Texas mural for the children's reading area. The store in a busy shopping center is twice the size of the Canyon store, which I believe is a work of art in itself.
My answers to my questions, always open to failure, are planning, and step-by-step attempts. 
Watercolor experience with paint helped, but at least I could cover up mistakes with new paint. 

This is what Burrowing Owl looked like in mid-September

People had asked if I had a projector for the sketch, and obviously I didn't. This meant the project would change as I went along, rather than being meticulously executed as the pros do it. 
In addition to using acrylic wall paint, when I arrived I discovered the wall was 14 feet wide and 10 feet tall.

That's a daunting big wall, and Lighthouse sketch.

First adjustment--Thursday afternoon the grid was expanded and  sketched with pencil.
Although most of the composition was made up, the main eye-catcher was not--it had to be a fairly accurate rendition of the iconic "lighthouse" formation in nearby Palo Duro canyon. I used my watercolor card as a guide. 
Then to look at the paint and supplies Dallas had purchased and get a few more.
Next post: step by step photos of two days "progress."

West Texas challenged--Story of a bookstore mural-I

 10" x 8" tentative color study for tentative mural, gridded to match 10 foot wall

In late August,  when my daughter called on the phone from West Texas, I answered immediately.
"Dad, would you paint a mural for us?" Dallas asked, laughing.
"I don't paint murals," said I, somewhat taken aback.
"Yes you do. Remember the crucifixion mural on the class wall at church?"
"Oh, long time ago."
"We want a mural in the children's section of our new store in Amarillo," she explained, about adding a branch of Burrowing Owl Books in Canyon. Having bought out the  stock of a another store, they've moved to a new location  and were busy renovating the place.
"How big is the wall, when, what?" I started rattling off questions.
"About 10 feet long, hopefully this month, and a West Texas scene with some of Palo Duro Canyon," she answered.

Work on Amarillo Burrowing Owl Books underway

No, they're not leaving Canyon, where Burrowing Owl books is on the courthouse square, new and used books, the only independent bookstore in the Panhandle, and a popular success.
"Let me think about it. Call you tomorrow and see if I can figure it out, and the calendar." (She knows a chance to go see grandkids, and she and Todd, is a "yes.")
I've never done anything like this. I've painted the iconic "Lighthouse" in the canyon for them, and they have cards for sale in their store, and a bison, since the Buffalos are the mascot of West Texas A&M in Canyon. 
But those are small--inches, not feet.
And when? By October, she said. No pressure, but that meant only a couple of possible weekends, hoping for a two-day job.

"Lighthouse," watercolor, inches, not feet

Ok, I agree, then the planning started: 

• Preliminary sketches and composition, with Dallas' approval. Then thinking about colors, and orientation of room, etc.
• I needed  a 2-foot-square grid on the wall, so I can transfer my smaller sketches to it and paint pretty quickly. 
• Supplies and acrylic paint  listed and forwarded.
• Three sketches: general small ink, value sketch, and today, gridded to scale with 10 foot wall, with colors washed on it--not on watercolor paper but enough to get an idea.

First sketch,  5" x 4"

Eventually, I'll pack up and go, shooting for a two-day completion. 
First the sky, and work forward, letting paint dry  one step at a time on the landscape, with plenty of paint left over for covering my mistakes.
And, some of the mural was open to, and will change, as it goes along, like the progress of the store. M.D./carpenter Son-in-law Todd is building the shelves, and answering lots of questions from people eager for the opening.

10" x 8" value sketch, notes

What you see here are the first three tentative sketches on a rough grid. I hoped, once it was done, there would be a completed mural to show for it.
If not, and it was a failure and I got "fired," I'd show you a nice repainted blank wall.
I didn't get fired. Next, see part for the story of the results and first stages.

Palo Duro landmark, watercolor

"The Lighthouse," Palo Duro icon, 5 by 7, greeting card watercolor, for Burrowing Owl Books

Palo Duro. Llano Estacado, Comancheria. West Texas. Panhandle.
Where the wildness of the West still pervades every day. Palo Duro Canyon, not far from where my daughter Dallas, her husband Dr. Todd, and my grandchildren Erin, Abby and Max live outside Canyon, on the rim of a canyon.
People who think Amarillo and the Panhandle is flat, haven't traveled. 
Palo Duro, where the musical "Texas" is staged, where tehre is camping, and hiking, and all kinds of critters, is just outside the county seat of Canyon, Texas, a great county seat with a university, West Texas A &M, a place with great schools, and...
Burrowing Owl Books, my daughter's new and used bookstore on the courthouse square, will feature today's watercolor, for cards soon for sale there.
Icon of Palo Duro's fantastic geologic formations, The Lighthouse. More coming.
Biggest challenge for me? Other than all the different angles and light on this icon? Painting vertical. Hey, when you grow up on the Great Plains, horizontal dominates. 

(WorldWatercolor Month, Day 14 challenge).

Palette--all kinds of earthen colors. 

 

Room to breathe--Sunday in Sayre

The Spirit of the West in Sayre

The minute I get out of the city limits going west, my tension eases, even though I'm on I-40.
Halfway to Amarillo, I always stop for a walk around at Sayre, Oklahoma, right before I get into Texas. But last Sunday, at a more leisurely place, I got off I-40 for a few minutes and drove up into downtown Sayre. My traveling tension evaporated.
There's room to breathe out here in Western Oklahoma. The skies are big, the horizons long, the people friendly. 
I know a few friends from this area, including Brad and Dayva Spitzer, owners of the award-winning  weekly newspaper Sayre Record and Beckham County Democrat, and former UCO student Cody Vignal and family.  I didn't stop to visit anyone, but thought about how peaceful the town is on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

I'd traveled through here on old US 66 on my way to my freshman year in college long ago. Then I saw the old Rock Island depot, thinking about how my Dad went through here in a box car on a freight train longer than that--headed for Mexico to celebrate his high school graduation. Coming back, he tried to jump another freight in Tucumcari and lost his right leg. But he would have seen this depot.
Today, it's the aptly named Short Grass Country museum.

City hall--a monument to civic pride

The streets are wide, like the land, and the Beckham County Courthouse is distinctive as the people--Westerners as the Spirit of the West buffalo suggests on the Courthouse lawn. 
It was also featured in the movie "Grapes of Wrath," but the town is healthier and greener than that now.
 And who can miss the elegant architecture of a former bank that is now city hall? It's a monument to civic pride. Check the equally classy chamber of commerce web site for more information.

This home brightens up a normally dry country

Some of those people make sure there's color in what is usually dry country by painting their houses bright colors. 
Room to breathe--Sunday in Sayre.

Where the streets are as wide as the land--room to breathe

Reasons I love Texas--Part 3--a story of coincidences

Christy White, Cathy Wardlow, and "Shriek" inside The Roost at Shamrock, Texas.

Getting to the point: If you're traveling through the Texas panhandle around lunchtime, get off the Interstate at Shamrock, turn south, past fast "food" places, and drive toward the white water tower. When you get there, turn left on Railroad Avenue, and you'll encounter "The Roost." Don't miss it.
Why?
This is a story about coincidences, culminating this week in meeting a friend  for the first time and my scrumptious, made from scratch,  country chicken club salad.
A few years ago I started playing "Literati" on Yahoo, a scrabble type game, where you'd play other people around the world. It's addictive and eventually, after hours of wasting perfectly good time, you'd eventually begin to recognize and play the same people.
So it was that I "met" JCWardlow, and we were pretty evenly matched. I could tell from our occasional comments about weather and such that she lived in West Texas, and eventually figured out it was in Shamrock. As an oft traveler through there to New Mexico or to visit family, I know the terrain.
Then one day, looking at Facebook comments from former student and friend Richard Mize, I saw he had a friend named Jack Wardlow II from aptly named Levelland, Texas,  west of Lubbock. This old reporter couldn't ignore the coincidence, and contacted him about the possible relation who would play Literati. I found out that JCWardlow was his mother, probably using the initials of her husband and her first name, Catherine.
I surprised her with that knowledge during one game, and we  continued to play. Then Yahoo killed Literati, which is a blessing in saving hours that could be better spent--if I'd take advantage of them.
With the advent of Facebook, Cathy and I again became "friends," sometimes briefly commenting. That's where I learned that she worked in the Shamrock cafe, The Roost, owned by her daughter Christy White. 
I always meant to stop when passing through, but alas, every time we were in the panhandle, we were in a hurry to get somewhere, or it was the wrong time of day. After a couple of unsuccessful tries, I finally located  The Roost on one of my more leisurely back road trips, but it was closed.
Until this week.
Coming back from Lubbock and Canyon Thursday I pulled into Shamrock and headed for the restaurant. When I pulled up at 10:45, there were a couple of cars parked nearby, but it looked closed.
Still, on a whim, I walked up, tried the door and pulled it open.
"Hello, are you open?" I asked, not seeing anyone.
From the back in the kitchen area came the reply, "In 15 minutes."
I kept walking in, coming around the corner, and saw two women and a man working away. From a Facebook photo, I recognized the woman at the counter, and asked, "Are you Cathy Wardlow?"
"Yes I am," she said.
"I'm Terry Clark," I said, and got invited to stay for lunch, meet her daughter Christy White, trade  some stories, and have that great salad before heading back to I-40 and home.

In between, the place started filling up with regulars in hats and boots and other West Texas garb, all known by name. It's bright and clean, with wood tables, and all kinds of chicken kinds of things for decorations. I took two photos, and the one outside doesn't do the place justice. But inside? Larupin' good. The menu is terrific, all made from scratch, all under $10, I think. Look it up and click here on  Yelp, and you'll see photos and reviews. The Roost is also on Facebook.
I want us to go back in the winter when they've got stew and cornbread. And in the summer, with more time, for that peach cobbler.
Coincidences, and more reasons I love Texas.

West Texas thoughts and grandchildren

West Texas--wide open land  of the Llano Estacado in The Panhandle,
where the skies and people stretch your mind and heart.

Most people think of the Texas Panhandle as a place to drive through as quickly as possible, but I've grown to love the thinking time, the remoteness, the extreme weather. And in the past few years, there are even more important reasons.
My daughter Dallas Bell, her husband Todd and their three children Erin, Abby and Max now live outside Canyon, just south of Amarillo where Todd is a doctor. I was thinking about that today because this is my oldest granddaughter's 13th birthday...Erin Ann Bell.

Abby and Erin, right, on one of our trips to the bookstore.

I remember the night I got a phone call from Dallas, saying, "Congratulations, Granddad." I've been blessed to be around enough to really get to know her and her sister and brother.
Amarillo is a treasured destination now, even if for just a night or a day stop. We always get to do neat things, like eat ice cream, go to book stores, explore their property, go shopping.
This photo is a year and a half old, so I hope Erin will forgive me for posting it, but it captures her spirit and goodness and that of her sister Abby.

Llano estacado, watercolor

9 by 12, 140 pound d'Arches paper--first attempt.

I saw this monster south of Amarillo Wednesday night after attending church with my daughter, son in law and of course three grandchildren. What's amazing to me is that after a trip to the clouds and spirit of New Mexico--as necessary to my life as seawater to tidal pools--this is my first painting. Susan saw the photo--earlier today on facebook--and ooh'd and ahh'd. Love in its many forms moves spirits. I knew when I took it.

For those of you experienced in the Llano--the Staked Plains--forgive me for adding a little relief to the flat horizon. See the facebook posting for reference. I will do better.