10th Day On The Wall

Today was the most comfortable day on the wall.  The temperature was perfect, the breeze was just warm, and the time flew!  A large tree is partially complete behind the bucket that Dude Andrews is cradling with his hand.  This tree closed the gap between the forest and the bucket, this made a huge difference in the dynamic perspective.  Next Monday when I go back and get on the tall ladder I will finish the tree and frame in the background.  The wall will look finished, but it is not. There are so many details that will need to be finalized.  I got a request today to put in a rabbit for Mr. Rabbit McCoy.  He and Jean stopped by and remarked on how far along the painting was.  They noticed the humming birds, dragonflies and the black bird in the cattails.  These little items are not in the original picture, but if we looked closely they would be somewhere in Mr. Casey's picture because the Trent River is full of wildlife.

Speaking of wildlife, Grandma and I were tooling down Middle Road about 9am this morning and saw a doe and her small small fawn with her.  It was a beautiful sight.  We were listening to some great music and when we saw the deer we stopped on the road and just let them pass.  They looked our way and then were gone, just that quick, but the fawn looked endearing and stared at us as if he or she were saying "what is that big blue thing with silver spikes (ladders.)  With all the animals in the Gulf of Mexico that are struggling it makes me think about all the wildlife here and how wonderful and free they are.  When we lived in California we had fires and the animals were hurt badly when these fires would blow through.  Here I feel like the animals have a wonderful place to live and breed.  I love to see the flickering tails of the deer, and the little one was an unexpected blessing this morning.

Grandma and I stopped in to see Gypsy and she had Italian Sausage on the menu, Grandma said oh well we will have to come back for lunch......Italian Sausage the smell was everywhere when we walked in, I immediately got hungry.  Steward was there and he told me about some wooden bridges around.  That's one of my project due in October, so I am working on getting some pictures of these almost extinct bridges.  Grandma and I left to get on the wall.  Because of the rain I was worried that the ladders and things would be muddy and everything would be difficult.  To my surprise everything was almost dry, except for a low spot in the parking lot.  Which was helpful getting mud off my sandals when I left, trying to be green about everything. 

Today seemed like a small painting day, starting later than usual, and quitting around 2pm, but the lines and grass, light and shadow melted onto the wall creating a distinctive flow from the right side of the wall to nearly 3/4 of the way across the wall.  Now I am getting excited. I see the mural becoming the picture taken by Mr. Casey.  I see the palette of the painting working together to create a beautiful picture that will be seen by everyone in town.  I get so many compliments from people, and I believe the best ones are the drive-bys  they honk and holler "looks good", "love it" and when I look around they are gone, but the words are still ringing in my ears.  As I tell everyone it is not me painting this picture, it is God, He is just using the brushes and my hands.  To Him be the glory....thank you God.

When we started cleaning up today I put everything back in the truck and it felt so easy this time.  Just about the time you get used to having everything in the right place, everything nicely displayed so I can get to the paints, brushes and pictures, it is ending.  The wall will be finished in 2 weeks from Monday.  I am not looking forward to finishing, because I will miss the daily routine of coming to the wall, painting, listening to the people, smiling when I hear the horns  and then there will be silence.  The only thing that the wall will hear and see is the breeze, and the eyes of those who look at it.  So I am going to cherish the next two weeks.  I will try to remember everything that has happened and everything that has been said.....this experience has been one of the best in my life.  It is all because of the wonderful people of Trenton, Cove City and Pollocksville....these people have shared themselves with me and the wall.  THANK YOU!

Here are some pictures:

As you can see the wall is growing!  Keep in touch and please keep reading.  Thanks in advance.  K