First Day of Martinelli Mural
I flew from Seattle for a mural in Watsonville, California to begin a mural this week at 9:00am I am excited to finally start. We have been going back and forth to nail down this window for a while now, having decided on our mural plan.
This is a very family focused space for the Martinelli family. Yes, the apple juice Martinelli family.
So I start showing my reference photos and we are discussing the mural plan, which is a nature mural inset in a nook of the family room. I was all set to begin painting when Megan calls her husband to ask about the type of owl native to the area…. which sparked an entire new mural plan, changing everything. Completely.
Sometimes this happens. One thing or idea sparks moving in an entirely new direction. I like to go with the flow and develop ideas to see what happens, just like I do with my personal projects at home. I kind of like creative surprises because they push you into exploring new ideas and possibilities.
She got off the phone and asked if I wanted to take kyaks out onto the lake outside the house to photograph that scenery for the mural setting. At first I thought she was kidding, but I hesitantly said yes.
We walked down to the dock, slipped into our kayaks and paddled out. It turned out to be so much fun and such a surprising way to spend the morning! I have kayaked twice before and tried to keep up while I pulled my camera out to shoot pictures while simultaneously drifting to one side, missing capturing some herons flying from a tree. Over and over I put the camera away safe, paddled and struggled to pull it out in time with my cold wet hands.
After I finally got the hang of it I got some really beautiful shots of the tulie grasses and trees and saw how the landscape changed as we came around along the shore. I had seen this lake from the opposite shore before, but this was an interesting view to really notice the coots and mallards paddling along and all of the night herons perched in the open winter framework of the willows. There was a commotion with the herons and then a big red tailed hawk rose from the tulies and settled into a tree, just about 15 feet from me.
By the time we reached the dock about an hour later I was pretty wet because every time I lifted the paddle up, all the water funnelled down onto my lap. I was so happy, I said yes.
Tomorrow at 9:00am I will again show up ready to paint, but this afternoon I am collecting my reference and reworking the details for a mural that will blur the edges of the walls and bring nature inside. I am so excited for tomorrow! Often I notice myself saying yes to new experiences lately after moving back to my Seattle home and it turns out to be so much more fun than saying no.
Paddling through the Lake
