December 18th - A Full View of the Panels So Far

Before signing off for two+ weeks, here is a view of the panels - first in 3's, then the whole full view.  Keep in mind that photos of different panels were taken in varied lighting, so the colors look like they don't match ... bu they actually do.  Dawn, Christine and I took special care that colors were exactly the same as one panel transitions into another.  Panels #1 and #5 still have some basic elements to do, and the rest of the panels are a little more finished.


Panels 1-2-3 (#1 & #2 by Judy Burgarella, #3 by Dawn Mill) 






Panels 4-5-6 (#4 by Dawn Mill, #5 & #6 by Christine Thomas, with beach continued by Dawn Mill)

  


All six panels to date









Signing off for real now, however read on to find out about the Vero Beach Art Club's Hibiscus Mural on 20th Street.

Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project

Deceber 17th, Another Vero Beach Mural

Today on my way home from manning the Artists Guild Gallery on 14th Avenue in Vero Beach, I happened upon the "other" mural that was being painted, on Route #20 East, just east of the railroad tracks.  This is another fine project sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club for the City. 

If you are from these parts, you may have driven by an old faded and very primitive mural of hibiscus painted on three sides of a cement block wall.  I've driven by it countless times and wondered who did it and when was it done, and why--it's in such an odd space.  I still don't know, however the Vero Beach Art Club has taken it upon themselves to refurbish this eyesore for the City of Vero Beach.  VBAC member Karen Leffel-Massengill www.karenleffelmassengill.com/  has taken on the job of directing the project, and has bumped it up a bit, and now it looks like it will be a work of art instead of "just another mural."  She showed me her design and it was fabulous, and on this day she was outlining the pattern, making ready for volunteers to sort of "paint-by-number," and then other artists will come by and tweak in the refinements.  Sounds like a great strategy for such a big project, which will be worked on by many hands.

Karen is not just your average painter, but a very accomplished landscape artist whose work has gotten the eye of many people in this town.  She held a workshop which I organized over the summer and it was a smashing success. She is a professional artist, busy in all aspects of running her art business.  The Art Club is proud to have such a competent artist managing this larger-than-life project.

I first met Karen when I was exhibiting at an Art in the Park show in Vero, and she was working the show in another capacity, when one of the exhibitors fell ill.  Well, she jumped in with me and we got the tent down, and the exhibitor on her way home and all turned out well due to our teamwork and the help of other hands.  She gave me her card and at the end of the day I looked at her website and was blown away.  Then she entered the Artists Guild's Invitational show and we just had to have her as an Guest Artist.  We are proud to announce that a body of her work will be exhibited for the month of April at the Artists Guild Gallery.  So after that long story, I'll get to the point by showing below a sample of her design work.

Karen Laffell Massengell working on the Hibiscus Mural in Vero Beach

This is just the view of the south end of the wall.  Easterly there is another I'd say 30 feet.  Then there are three other sides to this monstrosity.   When she gets done this will surely be a work of art that people will talk about and be able to enjoy each time they drive by.  What a gift.  We are just getting so "Artsy" here in Vero Beach.

Karen Laffell Massengell outlining the already-transferred pattern

So anyway, when I drove by and saw this solitary person working on the mural I just had to stop and give her an "atta-boy" for sitting in the sun and painting all by herself ... and getting that job closer to completion.  And what a steady hand she has!  Hope you enjoyed this little addition to our blog, I sure did enjoy seeing her work and chatting with her.

Remember, no more blogging for a couple of weeks, so check back in after that.

Regards,
Judy Burgarella
blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project

December 16th, Our 53rd Vero Beach Mural Painting Session

NOTE: The Vero Beach Mural Project is being Sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club as a gift to the City.  The artist members of the Vero Beach Art Club who are volunteering their time and talents are Judy Burgarella (http://www.burgarellaart.com/)  Dawn Mill and Christine Thomas (www.innerspacesandouterplaces.com).   Examples of artists' work can also be found on www.verobeachartclub.org/) The Mural consists of six stretched canvas panels, 36' long by 8' high, each panel 8' x 6'.  Created in and for the Community Center, in their "Florida Room."  Visitors are welcome to watch the artists paint between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.

Today I arrived a little late, doctor's appt, and Dawn was already set up and ready to paint.  I was nursing a bruised face due to walking into our sliding glass door last night.  Dumb.  Took a while but I eventually got into the groove, and began chalking in sandhill cranes - mama, papa and baby.  Been wanting to do that for weeks!  Had a visit from Doug Bruce of Vero Beach Magazine who took some pictures of us painting on the mural, so I guess they'll do a little blurb.  My friend Kathy Richter came by with her husband and took some pictures. 

But first, Dawn worked on some details of panel #3, the first panel to look really good a while back.  Now they all look pretty good, and every additional touch we do just makes them better.  Still not finished though with some of the basics on several panels, but painting in the critters and details sure is fun.

Dawn painted in an armadillo, dragonfly, lizard and some butterflies, and touched up the lights and shadows in the water on Panels #3 and #4.  Her and Christine worked for a time on harmonizing their adjoining panels.

Dawn Mill's butterflies and armadillo on Panel #3



Dawn Mill's dragonfly on Panel #3



Dawn Mil's Lizard on Panel #3

Christine polished up her surf-boarder, who happends to look a lot like her grandson Noah ... h-m-m-m-m. Pictures of him are farther along on this blog when he visited this summer.  We had such fun with him and hope he comes back again to lighten the day.

Christine Thomas' Panel #6

Christine Thomas' Surfer on Panel #6

Dawn's Panel #3 and Christine's Panel #4

I eventually got started and mapped in the sandhill cranes.  I still have work to do on some details, especially the baby, but these critters are almost done.  It is such a pleasure to work from my laptop, having all kinds of images right there in front of me, and to be able to enlarge them is such an advantage. 

Judy Burgarella's Panel #2 - Western Vero



Detail of Sandhill Cranes on Judy Burgarella's Panel #2

Had a ball painting these lovely birds.  A family of them visited us just yesterday, and we hand-fed them bread which they picked up and then dunk in the canal for moisture.  They are colorful with their bright red caps, graceful and friendly, and look like something prehistoric especially when in flight.  Sandhill cranes are almost 4 feet tall and their wingspan must be at least the same.  I think they are my favorite Florida animal, although I do love the alligators.

We hope you enjoyed looking at this blog.  This will be our last painting session until January 6th or 9th, as we are taking a break for the holidays.  And so we will pick this back up at that time.  Until then, Dawn, Christine and I wish you a Merry Christmas, and a very happy New Year.

Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project 

December 9th, Our 52nd Vero Beach Mural Painting Session

NOTE: The Vero Beach Mural Project is being Sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club as a gift to the City.  The artist members of the Vero Beach Art Club who are volunteering their time and talents are Judy Burgarella (http://www.burgarellaart.com/)  Dawn Mill and Christine Thomas (www.innerspacesandouterplaces.com).   Examples of artists' work can also be found on www.verobeachartclub.org/) The Mural consists of six stretched canvas panels, 36' long by 8' high, each panel 8' x 6'.  Created in and for the Community Center, in their "Florida Room."  Visitors are welcome to watch the artists paint between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.

Today after setting up we spent a little time strategizing about the mural--assessing progress and projecting timelines, planning additional elements, and deciding what we could do without in order to expedite the process nearer to completion.  Christine soon arrived and we continued our discussions about strategy and timing.  We basked in the beauty of our accomplishment, noting that all canvases are finally covered. 

At this point the mural has taken on a life of its own.  It appears that we three have created our own little universe based on the highlights of Vero Beach.  It's such a treat to view the piece as a whole, and follow each panel as it transitions from Downtown Vero Beach into the pineforest, on over into the flats and western Vero and into the hammocks and farmland (the Sexton Ranch), down into the scrub habitat and through the cypress swamp, meandering on into the mangrove swamp to the Indian River Lagoon, and on into the island at the beach and dunes in back of the businesses on A1A, and finally into the cool deep of the Ocean Reef.

Transitioning from one panel to another proved tricky, but I believe we have accomplished the feat pretty cleverly.  We strived to create a beautiful work of art, one that the City will be proud of, but the viewer should keep in mind that the mission of this mural is to: 1) convey the habitats of Vero Beach; 2) represent current animal inhabitants and plantlife, featuring some endangered species; 3) produce a work of art to enhance the Community Center, and present it to the Town of Vero Beach in appreciation of their efforts on behalf of the Vero Beach Art Club. 

Because of the complexity of the mural, the transitioning artwork took much planning on our part, but even so it is not a perfect science in that some of the transitioning posed a bit of perspective and size-relationship challenges.  At times when we had to choose between the aesthetic and beauty of the peace and a perfect spacial relationship and perspective, the beauty thing won over.  Therefore, you may see the size of one animal in a certain position on any canvas, compared to another animal who may not be the right size compared to the animal on the adjoining canvas. All other elements are depicted as accurately as we could render, considering some of the scant references we had to go on, and the time it takes outside of the painting sessions to find research material.  In the 2001 mural, there was a researcher who did all of that legwork

So now for the pictures.  Below is Christine Thomas' Panel #6, wherein she worked on Mel Fisher, the famous treasure hunter whose museum in Sebastian still glitters with his found fortunes.  She also worked on the sea anemones and some other elements of the coral.  Way to go, Christine, you nailed that underwater paradise.


Christine Thomas' Panel #6



Panel #6 detail with Mel Fisher discovering treasure!

Dawn Mill worked on her Panel #3, refining some greenery and flowers in the foreground and the meandering shore, finally putting legs and feet on her poor heron.  She also painted in some lovely flowers and a butterfly.  This panel is alive with beautiful birds and animals, seems in perfect harmony.



Detail of Dawn Mill's Panel #3



 As for me, I was really cookin' today.  I concentrated on completing the scrub along the pathway, plants along its edges, creating little green runners and patches of grasses.  I had hoped there would be enough time to paint in some critters.  Can't wait to paint more animals, flowers and bugs.  But it's finally done.  And the next painting session will be Friday because of the room being rented out.

Judy Burgarella's Panel #2 transitioning into Dawn Mill's Panel #3

 Below is detail of Panel #2, finally completely covered and waiting for new animals to walk down that path!



Detail of Judy Burgarella's Panel #3

 We will not be painting on Monday due to the room being used by another organization, however we'll be back there again on Friday, perhaps the last painting session until after the New Year.  Didn't get to paint the baby skunks coming out of the log, but I'm determined to get it done next time.  Come-on back!

Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project

December 5th, Our 51st Vero Beach Mural Painting Session

 NOTE: The Vero Beach Mural Project is being Sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club as a gift to the City.  The artist members of the Vero Beach Art Club who are volunteering their time and talents are Judy Burgarella (http://www.burgarellaart.com/)  Dawn Mill and Christine Thomas (www.innerspacesandouterplaces.com).   Examples of artists' work can also be found on www.verobeachartclub.org/) The Mural consists of six stretched canvas panels, 36' long by 8' high, each panel 8' x 6'.  Created in and for the Community Center, in their "Florida Room."  Visitors are welcome to watch the artists paint between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.

Today, as all Mondays lately, we painted in the south meeting room of the Community Center, as the Florida Room is used on Mondays.  Although logistically it is a bit less convenient, the light is better, especially when we lift them onto chairs and place them against the dividing wall opposite the windows.  Less stress on the back too when painting the lower area of the panels. 

Got there at 8:30, and by 9:15 I was painting.  Was anxious to paint from the wonderful array of critters that I had spnt hours downloading onto my laptop yesterday.  Spent quite a while trying to get them up before I finally realized that my portable storage device was dead. Since getting the laptop on Craig's List it has saved me from carting a pile of heavy books in as reference.  So I painted today from my head, and in spite of that was able to complete the transition from Panel #1 to Panel #2, and refine the dead log and painting a skunk's rear-end sticking out of it, which I will refine later, painting in more foliage at water's edge and putting the final touches and patches of grass on the scrub pathway.  Getting pretty close to finishing this panel.  Stop back on Friday and se baby skunks skipping out of the other end of the log.


Detail of Judy Burgarella's Panel #2

Pilar Turner, Vero Beach's new Mayor stopped by with a tray of cookies for us.  Thank you Mayor Turner, it was such a treat--we made tea and had a break after you left.  I climbed onto the counter and took photos of her in various positions from above, trying to get the right angle to paint her into the city on panel #1 as our current mayor.  It was nice of her to stay and chat a while and say such positive things about the mural.

Panel #1 - Positioning Mayor Pilar Turner on mural

 Jeff Matthews, Manager of the City of Vero Beach's Leisure Square, stopped by to see the mural and was very impressed.  Having had experience with a paintbrush himself, he was appreciative of the size of the project and the time and talent we've invested in it.  Enjoyed our chat with him and hearing about his little girl, who sounds adorable.  Took a photo of him in the position of leaning on a rail, and perhaps Dawn can paint him in on the deck of the Driftwood, looking out at the ocean.



Jeff Matthews enjoying the view of Panels #2 and #3

Christine made some headway today on her coral pieces, straining her eyes to paint the nuances of color which glisten in that other-worldly place.  Christine is doing a fine job of creating an environment depicting the neighborhood digs of unerwater critters, and in the process putting in as many endangered and beautiful representations she can in the limited space.  It was a great idea on her part to paint in he famous Mel Fisher, finder of fabulous treasure here on the Treasure Coast.


Christine Thomas' Panel #6, Ocean Reef



Coral Reef detail of Christine Thomas' Panel #6

Stop back on this blog on Friday (or Saturday) and I'll have posted all three of our progress to that point, as we will all be painting together again.

Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project

December 2nd, our 50th Vero Beach Mural Painting Session

 NOTE: The Vero Beach Mural Project is being Sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club as a gift to the City.  The artist members of the Vero Beach Art Club who are volunteering their time and talents are Judy Burgarella (http://www.burgarellaart.com/)  Dawn Mill and Christine Thomas (www.innerspacesandouterplaces.com).   Examples of artists' work can also be found on www.verobeachartclub.org/) The Mural consists of six stretched canvas panels, 36' long by 8' high, each panel 8' x 6'.  Created in and for the Community Center, in their "Florida Room."  Visitors are welcome to watch the artists paint between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.

Today Dawn and I painted without Christine, as she had a commission to work on, although she stopped in briefly to talk.  Dawn and I discussed the progress and current strategy, and when Christine stopped in we discussed and adjusted our timeline, strategy, and cutting out some ideas we had hoped to accomplish with the mural due to the Club's limited budget for this project. 

To update everyone on its progress, below is a complete panorama of the mural to date, and further on in this blog will be the panels two-by-two.


All six 6'x8' panels of the Vero Beach Mural Project

Saturday, December 3rd I manned the Artists Guild Gallery early in the morning in order to sell tickets to the Vero Beach Art Club's "Art Trail," a tour of 10 artist's studios.  By 11:00 a.m. I was off with two other gallery buddies to spend a delightful day touring other artists' studios.  One of the stops on the tour was the studio/farm of Sean and Sharon Sexton.  This was the absolute highlight of the whole day, and one that I will always remember.  Our first hint of what was to come was as we pulled up in the driveway several cobalt blue and seafoam green peacocks strutted up to greet us.  Coincidentally, I painted their farm into the mural months ago at the request of Dawn Mill, who provided me with a photo of the barn.  Now after seeing this wonderful work of art that is their home and studio, I am ashamed to say that my brief painting in the upper left corner of Panel #2 certainly does not do it justice.  Sean and Sharon are not only masters with the brush, but masters of carpentry, design, improvisation, and incredible finders of delicious artifacts which they have incorporated into their one-of-a-kind home.  I mentioned to Sean that I had painted their farm into the mural, and so below is the small area where the Sexton Barn is represented.


Sexton Barn, etc.

Below are the panels, two-by-two, in order to better see the detail.



Panels #1 and #2 by Judy Burgarella



Panel #3 by Dawn Mill transitioning to Panel #4 by Christine Thomas



Panel #5 by Dawn Mill and Panel #6 by Christine Thomas

Shown below is Dawn painting from a ladder.  The ladder is essential as we add elements to the upper area, which makes the painting of this mural a little more difficult.  It is getting more beautiful with each painting session, and will make a wonderful attraction for the City. 


Dawn Mill painting in her spoonbills

Below are the five spoonbills Dawn painted in Panels #3 and #4 - a perfect addition to our mural.


Dawn Mill's spoonbills

Most of my day today was working on the transitioning of Panels #1 and #2, and I painted in hibiscus sandwitched among saw palmettos. On the screen it doesn't look like much, but it is equivalent to doing a complete medium-sized painting in a day, minus lugging the canvases out of their hiding place and setting up which takes about an hour and a half out of our 8-hour day.  Next time I'll scumble in some grasses around the panther cub (which incidentally they really are spotted when young) and this section of the canvas will be completely done.

Judy Burgarella's Panel #1 and #2 transition

Be sure to visit back again next week and see what new critters we breathe life into!

Ciou!

Judy Burgarella

Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project