July 29th, our 14th painting session

Well, I missed six painting sessions while I was away in California awaiting the birth of our first Grandchild, so catching up to Chris and Dawn is going to be hard to do.  Chris posted some of the painting sessions while I was away, so this blog is almost up-to-date.  Baby Salem was born July 11th, and here she is--the prettiest flower in my garden!

Baby Salem

Now back to the mural.  I was dazzled by Dawn's progress and the imaginative elements of her panel.  The closer you look the more you see.  The colors and wildlife in it are outstanding, and the landscape is just beautiful ... and very peaceful.  This is an excellent abbreviation of what are the the "jewels" of our portion of this paradise. 

Dawn's Panel

We three are becoming very inspired with this project and are trying our best to portray the attributes of this area.

Following is Chris's panel, and did she nail those manatees!!  She was having a ball painting in all those little fishies.  Chris puts a lot of effort into her research, which has paid off well in the beautiful and interesting elements of her panel.  She's a pro at painting marine life and other critters, and she also brings to the project years of experience with murals and excellent handling of the paints and equipment used in creating large works on a variety of surfaces.  And thanks again Chris for blogging for me!

Christine's Panel

Although by the end of today's session I was happy with the way my building was starting to "pop," I have lots to catch up on.  Missing 40 to 50 hours of painting leaves me trailing behind.  And next session (Monday August 1st) I can't avoid it any longer--I must tackle that darned Vero Furniture buiding facade architecture--eugh!  Such a complicated entryway!

Judy's Panel

And if you're looking for an orderly progression of this mural you won't find it here.  It is such a large project, and such a long day (usually 8-8:30 to 4 or 5), that in order to keep ourselves interested and inspired we tend to paint whichever part of the panel strikes our fancy, thereby keeping our "juices" flowing.  We are now really starting to see it come alive, and our inspiration for the project is reflected in the quality of the progress.  The day goes by so fast that we usually aren't ready to quit at quitting time.  However there is such a mess that we have to remember to save some energy for clean-up.  See the mess below?

Messy, messy, messy!

This is such an exciting project, I can't wait to see it finished and to share it with the Town of Vero Beach and surrounding communities.

Following is a picture of the Vero Beach Community Center on 14th Avenue, in case you've never been there.  The marquee out front lists some activities within and around town.  Locals and visitors should keep an eye on the marquee for interesting upcoming events.

Vero Beach Community Center

Community Center Marquee

Well, that's it for now ... I'm posting this on a Sunday evening, and tomorrow's already another painting session!  G'nite!
Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project