Large-Scale Building Mural

Exterior building mural in downtown Chehalis.

During a time when the world was on lock down, we locked down on the design for the elks building in Chehalis, the planning took all summer, but the execution took two weeks for me and one other person, Thomas Sutley, to paint this football field size mural.

Here are some insider notes that people might want to know. Bringing the paint up to the site required carrying 40+ single Gallons and seven five gallons of primer and paint all the way up the flight of stairs, down the hallway, up a ladder and through a hole in the wall to the work site. I was glad to have experience in the field of Aerial Guiding as the next task required that we used harnesses to paint. Thomas focused on the lower section.

I utilized my experience in heights as a rock climbing and zip lining guide and found that I was already familiar with ways to safely create pully systems that helped raise and secure our paint and loose items. I found that my comfortability with heights and the safety protocols there-in to be a key factor in completing this mural as even at the extension of my harness I was still using an extended roller to reach the corners of the mural.

I want to emphasize the importance of being cross qualified in both aerial safety and artistic skill; as THIS TASK REQUIRES BOTH! Hanging at the end of your rope over the edge of two story scaffolding, and painting with such precision as to accurately represent what you can achieve at home on a canvas. I am %100 percent sure that my experience and comfortability in the field was the only way I could have ever achieved this.

Furthermore the building itself was experiencing some crumbling issues that we were told to paint directly over, in doing so I found pockets that required a maintenance patch such as our approved exterior caulking material.

Key Takeaway: Like all good crafstmen, I always take time to make necessary fixes before painting over them. However I also take those moments as opportunities to add a little more magic whenever I can.

Since this extra step was required, I found the opportunity to include some hidden secrets within this piece, and create a kind of SCAVENGER HUNT so to speak; I went to the local thrift store and found some creative little inclusions such as: An Alice and Wonderland Toy, hiding in the sunset where her dress meets the blue sky and her hair is hidden in the yellow sunset colors, a toy horse within the meadow line, a troll doll, and a 35 piece set of faerie figurines that hid perfectly in the color of the mural they were placed in, and finally one very valuable large quartz crystal that became the only star in the painted sky that will actually sparkle at you in the right light. Absolutely none of this is visible from the street where you can see this mural from, but knowing that its got these items hidden within it makes me want to take out a pair of binoculars and rent out the event space above Jerrys little corner store just to see if I can find them all again sometime.