Current Murals

It has been a long time since I posted what I am working on.

I have 4 open murals:

Mill Pond Restructure on Luke's Primative Store
Private Home Mural
Children's Mural at the United Methodist Church
Planning Stages for another mural of Jesus and John The Baptist at the United Methodist Church in Trenton also

Recently we put up a glass angel in the prayer garden at the United Methodist Church and it is slightly lit at night for travelers to see.

Since we have not had a hard winter I have been able to continue working on all of these for small amounts of time.  So I am happy to say there is more paint to come shortly as the temperatures come around to about 60, the paint works better if the temperature is correct.

Thank you all for the wonderful opportunities and I will post pictures some time next week on the status of the projects.

I have 6 students each week and I hope some of these new artists will want to venture into murals also.....I would love to have some help painting the towns in North Carolina.

Check back early next week to see some new pictures.

Also there is a new barn quilt on Henderson Road on a tobacco barn.  It is one I designed representing our flag (red, white and blue), with floating stars and underneath the quilt you will find a sign the owner asked me to paint.  It says "God Bless America".  A friend of ours, Wilbur Gurganus, gave us some barn planks and it looks rustic and appropriate under the quilt.

There are two barn quilts to be done and their location will be on Claude Banks road, so keep looking for more art in our area........and thanks for all the opportunities

k

Duplin Wine Smooth Sailing Picture Entry

Duplin Winery in Duplin, NC

has posted a contest that required the people interested to enter their paintings in October.  On October 14th I sent in a painting, this is it.  If you would like to vote for the painting, go to www.duplinwinery.com and press blog at the top, look for the Carolina Jewel Contest and rate the pictures.

I have not entered any contests and this is my first.  It does not matter who wins, it is truly the journey.  There are some beautiful paintings exhibited, and it feels good to see one of mine there.

Thanks for your continued support.  k

Mill Pond Trenton

The original Mill Pond completed by the students of Jones County Senior High School.

The refurbishing began because of the deterioration of the paint.

The first step was to scrap it off the building, put on a thick coat of primer.

The picture done by the students will be remembered forever as there will be a plaque places beside the refurbished mural recognizing what a beautiful mural was first painted on the building built in Trenton.

I  have spent about 3 days on the clean up and blocking in of the mural.  The trees on the right side were reduced and pictures were taken of the millpond surroundings to create the many trees that make the mill pond so beautiful.

On the left side of the pond you will begin to see the bank where you might find geese or ducks on the grounds, which makes me think of how the wildlife love the serenity of the pond and the music it makes crossing the concrete barrier.  It is truly a piece of living art for Trenton, NC.

There is a lot of painting to be completed and hopefully by Thanksgiving this year it will be finished weather permitting.  So keep looking and watch for small changes as the pictures comes to rest on the side of another building in Trenton.

Thanks for this opportunity Willow Faye Stroud and Luke McKinney.

k



Mill Pond Mural Trenton, NC

Today was the first day on the Mill Pond Mural in downtown Trenton, NC.  This mural was first completed by a group of art students from Jones County Senior High School.  It was painted about 5 years ago, I believe. 

Over the years the elements have taken a toll on it and the new owner of the building has asked me to work on it to restore its beauty.  Luke McKinney is the owner and he loves art and is an artist himself.  He owns the Rag Bag in Trenton, next to Gypsy's Cafe and Red Willows.  These entrepreneurs are friends first, business owners second and they are dedicated to offering hospitality and wonderful items in their stores.  If you have not been, please come to visit them, they are one of a kind small town treasures.

The mural was a little daunting this morning after I left Bible Study at the Methodist church.  Bud Morton is the pastor and this morning was a wonderful gathering for all who attended.  After study some lucky lilies took up residence in the Prayer Garden from Claudia and Johnny home near by.  Spending a little time in the garden was heavenly because of the beautiful weather.

When I got to Luke's building I took one look at the mural and immediately asked God for His presence, and sure enough, He came.  The mural has already started to look very impressionistic, and I know the final product will be beautiful.  Hopefully the integrity of the wall will work with the new paint and poly products added so it will last for a long time.

So keep watching it's transformation.


Thanks Luke for this opportunity......art in Trenton is so important to all of us. 

We welcome you to our town filled with art and love.  k

Angel

I haven't blogged for some time.  But now as the summer comes to an end, there is a project that is near and dear to my heart.  It is the Prayer Garden at the Trenton United Methodist Church in Trenton, NC.  Our pastor, Bud Morton, is a special person to God and all of us.  He is near and dear to a lot of our hearts and I hear from God when I listen to him preach.  It is quite refreshing.

We started the prayer garden in April and now in November it will be dedicated to God, the congregation and to those who wander upon it just by accident as they travel the streets of Trenton.  The angel will be not displayed on the blog until the dedication in November.  I want her to reach out and touch you for the very first time, if you are not a Trentonian, by way of the Internet.

I started to paint her a few times and scraped her out more than once.  I really began to wonder if I would be able to bring her to life, but as you all  know God always shows up when you need Him most.

It only took two days of about 10 hours of painting, drawing and observing as she became real right in front of my eyes.  She is on a glass window that was bought at a garage sale in New Bern, NC.  The window which is about 4 feet wide and 5 feet tall is quite heavy but sturdy.  Claudia Henley, the owner of Air Frames in Trenton is framing the window and putting Plexiglas on both sides to help the angel last for a long time. 

Thank you for continuing to check the blog.

Upcoming projects will include:

Mill Pond revision in downtown Trenton and a Sunflower mural next Spring.

We are continuing to finish our upstairs and are closing in on the final details.  Can't way to have a studio again.  I have two students right now and I have to say Carter has just finished his first acrylic painting and we are very proud of him.

Christmas Card design for some friends will be my home project for the next two months and we have travel plans in September and October, then it will be good weather I hope to do a few barn quilts prior to Christmas.

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.


Peace

k

Solomon's Temple Complete

May 15th to June 14th, 2011 a mural became a reality......thank you Betty Heath for being a painter with me, and thank you friends for carrying me through......to completion.  We painted for a total of 20 days during this period.  Some days alone, some days with Grandma and Betty, but every day with God.  Awewinds means:  the winds carry the picture from the paint brush to the wall, canvas, board or window.  The winds of those who help me and others bring the picture to this dimension.

Today Betty Heath and I put the final touches on the mural.  The gold columns were treated to a rounding affect.  Then the river behind the aqueduct was changed to a bluer water to reflect the sky.  The aqueduct was trimmed in a gray, brown, green mixture of paint, and the bulls received their platform.  The two darker bulls also were dressed with a bit of gold.

As Betty and I stepped away to take a look at the final touches, we were amazed at how 3-d this mural looks in person.

I hope you get a chance to go and look at it.  It is on Huffermantown Road just down from the McDonald's on the opposite of the road.  You can see just a bit of it after you turn on Huffermantown Road, pass the trees and then you can see it boldly.

I gave Jane the color card for Merwin, and donated a gallon of sealer.  I also appreciated the gift you gave me and Betty.  This covered a myriad of needs. 

A final picture will be added after the temple is sealed. The sealer changes the colors and makes them darker so look for it sometime next week.




Thanks Masons for the opportunity to paint this mural it is the largest done so far, and Betty hung in there and painted like a champion.  So THANKS to all for the good prayers, wishes and just all around support during this time.  There was one point when I had thought I would have to quit because I didn't know how to do this large of a job with just ladders, but Wynne Kenworthy loaned me two, Mr. Gurganus loaned me two 40 foot ladders and the job got done.......what a blessing...thank you. Peace.

k

Finalizing Soloman's Temple in Richlands, NC

Here are some new pictures of Solomon's Temple in Richlands, NC

Today, Betty Heath and I spent some time going over the wall with extra care.  Next Monday will be the final touches and then the Mason's will seal the mural.

Today the bull bowl came in.  Last Sunday afternoon, Jane, Grandma and I studied the Internet to see what we could find out about Solomon's Temple.  We know it stood for 410 years and then was destroyed.   We know that the Ark of the Covenant was housed there and gold was used in the building.  It was a place of God.  

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this temple.

This has been the largest mural completed in record time.  I attribute this to my helper Betty Heath, Wilbur and Jane Gurganus and Merwin, Willow, the gang at Gypsy's and my family.  Tony and Grandma are always my number one fans.  Tony helped me plot the points on the building, and then came back this past Monday and corrected some angles that were not quite right.  It took him all of about 15 minutes to help with some building issues.  I don't think I thanked him enough for that so THANK YOU TONY.  Gram was a spotter for me.  She was especially helpful with the sky.  I stood on a 20 foot ladder and she would say up, down, too much, stop or beautiful.  I loved that beautiful word.  My spirit began to soar when Betty and I were working on the bulls because I knew the mural was a success because of all the people who had helped, prayed, offered words of encouragement and loved me through the hard days, and the person that helped me knows who they are.  THANK YOU!

Today one of the town planners stopped by and said the town loves the mural.  He couldn't quit talking about the vision of the Mason's to allow this painting to be completed.  Betty and I were pleasantly pleased to hear this.  A school worker stopped by, people would honk and say good job, or how amazingly real this mural looked.  We looked at each other but we know there are things that go on while painting structures that are just plain miracles. The mural is one!

 The hardest week is the first and you realize you have just put paint on a pristine white building and now you are really committed to producing what you have said you can do.  Now the friends, prayers and just plain hard work takes place.  But if you persevere you will be successful.  It took allot of hands and time to produce this and I thank each and everyone of you.

We will sign the wall on Monday, and begin again, somewhere spreading paint for someone.

This last pictures is about 1/4 mile from the painting.  You can see old paint truck, the lodge and the place where a blank wall turned into a painting.....thank you Masons for the opportunity.

K. Rowland