Mural Mural on the... well..

Today, I spent my time painting a mural for the town I live in.

It was kind of like a survival challenge. The mission? To paint over an unwanted scene on a big, oddly shaped screen. Supplies are limited to 20 mystery cans of wall paint left over from prior projects and school play productions put on at the town hall, a few brushes, a roll of paper towels, and drop cloths. Time limit: get it done in one day.

After spending well over an hour popping cans, I figured out I had a ton of pastels and other odd colors, and NO primaries. I had a red-red glaze, which kinda counted, a beige yellow, and an off blue. I made do with those, though, and in the end it worked out for the most part.

All told, it took 7 1/2 hours of painting. It wasn't all at once, though, since I had to run and pick up my children, and feed them, and then get myself back. It was much harder to go back than it was to start in the first place. I was tired! I did something I never do, and that was to have caffeinated coffee in the late afternoon before I returned to work on the mural.

I admit, I was a little panicky around 6PM, thinking I'd NEVER get this finished. I even said to myself "I wanna quit." But I kept at it.

As I was painting, I realized it was pitch dark outside. I was by myself, in a VERY old building. Painting, most lights off, days from Halloween... I thought to myself "This is the part of the movie where the girl with the paint brushes ends up dead, isn't it..." And right as I was thinking that, my friend who asked me to do the mural came banging through the door.

A good startle is as good as strong coffee, as it turns out!

I finished the mural at 9PM. It's funny how a day gets divided when you have outside responsibilities. 7 1/2 hours is less than a normal work day, but it took me ALL day to fit it in!

Here is my mural (please excuse the bad picture, I took it with my phone, which is decidedly low-tech):

Not bad for a day's work!