Finished

Saturday morning Tony and I went to the wall in the old truck with ladders hanging out for the last time!  The moment was good and sad at the same time.  I won't be at the wall anymore except to put in the flower bed underneath the picture.  We are going to put in some grasses that grow along the Trent River, which we believe will be very appropriate and help the area stay clean and attractive for people who pass by, stop to see the art and linger as they visit the Trent Market there.  It took 17 partial days to get the image on the wall.  Kelsey Wyatt, Brad Lyttle, Greg Holland, all Jones County art students, helped with the picture, I want to thank you all for your contributions. 

This is my 3rd mural.  The first one was a fantasy, the second was a picture collage of the Brown Farm, along with the family that owns the Picnic Basket Restaurant in Kinston and now this one in our town of Trenton.  When I first saw Mr. Ben Casey's photograph I said to Tony, my husband, have you ever seen dancing light.....in a photograph!  Well, I saw it and immediately wanted to paint that picture.    Did I think we could paint a picture this large from a photograph, no, but guess what we did it, we all had our parts.  Everyone knew I was afraid of heights and those ladders were shaky, high and often used.  The wall was painted green first, then came the colors of  different browns to make it look like a forest in the back.  I paint with my hands, brushes, paper towels and who know what else will be used in the future.  When I was painting with my hands Tony would ask how do you know what you are doing and I responded I don't until I get down, walk about 100 feet away and look back to see if the colors are doing what they are supposed to do.  The colors, paint strokes and light all work together to create depth.  This wall looked so big, but it was like the last three walls, you just take it one stroke at the time and keep coming back, looking, stepping up on the ladders and moving from one area to the next until it feels good when you look at it from the street.  I am happy with the results.  I worked on this with my whole heart and soul.  I personally know the family of "Dude Andrews" and they are special people to me.  They are good people and when they look at the wall, they see their father, their father in law, they see someone they know and respect.  But what also happen was most of Trenton knew this man.  They could only say good things about him.  They talked about his life and the fact he is in his eighties and still driving his truck, still attending church and going on with his life.  Thank you Trenton for helping me know him just a little more.

People asked me if I used a grid on the wall and I said no.  I just found the focus of the picture "Dude" and moved out from that.  After he was in place, the rest came easy.  The hardest parts were coming for 17 days, taking out the ladders, paints, brushes, being mobile with anything possibly needed to paint the picture to the best of my ability.  I hope those who helped with the wall learned something, are proud of what they contributed and know that I appreciate the strokes, whether it be 10 or 100, I appreciated all efforts.

I want to thank Gypsy's Cafe for the cool drinks, prayers for safety on the ladders, and the belief all of you bestowed on me each time I walked in to say the wall is coming along.  I want to thank the people of Trenton, for all the input, questions, kinds words - they kept me going!  I want to thank Tony and Grandma for putting  up with me, coming when I called and the old truck wouldn't start, packing snacks for me and believing that I should continue to paint.  I want to thank the Beautification Committee for asking me to paint for them, it has been a pleasure.  I want to especially thank Willow for her continued support of my career.  I want to thank her for being a friend and sharing her shop walls with me to exhibit my painting.  Willow, you were right, people will find me in Trenton, I just have to keep painting!

So it is so long for now, but look to the left as you go out Wyse Fork Road leaving Trenton, I will be painting an Angel on a Barn that will be lit at night......I hope you will stop by and say hi........mural are my thing......In his name.....K