From The Vault - Wall Mural Color Sketch 1995

Geez, it's been a busy week again and it seems all the artistic flow I have has left me and I am stuck grinding out art simply because I have to. I'm not sure if you could hold two pieces of mine up next to each other and tell which one was easy for me and which one was a struggle. But it does make for a long week of beating your head against the art desk.

I even had at least two blog posts I planned on getting up this week. But, when I looked up from my desk I realized, "hey, how did it get to be Friday again so quickly??" So those other posts will have to wait. It's From the Vault Friday!

I did this piece back in 1995 when I was bartending at a restaurant in New Jersey called The Terra Marr. It had a sort of island theme to it and we all wore Hawaiian shirts. The guy who hired me knew I did art and knew I worked for Marvel Comics so he was continuously asking me if I could do some sort of work around the restaurant. Jumping at the chance to paint on a canvas that was larger than my art desk at home I came up with a few different projects we might do.

The first thing I did was some simple lettering above the second bar room. What I originally envisioned for the colors was shot down after I painted it and I had to make some changes. It was one of the first times that I really knew I should have done some sort of thumbnail piece to show the guy before I went to the finished piece. It would have saved me a lot of time and a little embarrassment. It was a lesson I still hold onto closely.

The second idea I had for the restaurant was to do a giant mural on this one big blank white wall. It had a fish tank cut right into the wall so I thought it might be a great idea to paint some sort of underwater world. It would fit with the theme of the restaurant, look cool, and might impress a certain someone I was chasing at the time. You see, at this time I was very much infatuated with a girl who was a huge Wyland fan. Wyland is the famous artist who paints all sorts of undersea life and does a beautiful job.

So, of course, being young, I figured if I did an amazing art job in a Wyland like style, how could she resist me? It's funny the things we think will make girls like us when we're young. Silly boys.

So, I started thinking of how to do a Wyland type painting on this wall, incorporate the fish tank, do a great job, and win the girl.

But, learning from the lettering job I did for the restaurant, I did this color thumbnail sketch first.

I think I originally did the pencils on tracing paper and made a simple photocopy of the sketch onto regular paper. I then airbrushed the whole copy with a blue gradation. After, I sat down with some watercolors and mixed the paint and airbrush to create some simple colors. Finally, I added some white to the whole piece. When it was done I mounted the copy onto a piece of heavy illustration board and showed it to my boss.

He loved it and wanted to know when I could start. I told him I was still waiting to be paid for the materials and labor from the simple lettering job I'd completed and I'd wait until I was paid for the previous job before I started the new one.

Well, to make a long story short, within two or three months the restaurant failed, I lost the bartending job, I was never paid for the lettering job, and I didn't win the girl. By early the next year my jeep was packed and I was on the road out of New Jersey on my way to Colorado.

But, at least I still have this great color sketch that I'm still really proud of.

And the girl still talks to me. Those are her kids in the blog post right below us.