Stages 4 & 5 - Klamath River Mural - Installation & Varnish

On November 19, we loaded the painting into the 4-Runner, met Frank at his house, and headed down river to the community hall for the installation.

As I was cleaning the back of the sign for the hanging, the urethane that Frank had put on the wood, flaked off like dust. The afternoon sun really did its job. This side of the sign is exposed to sun from mid morning til sunset. It was at this point, I decided to seal and varnish the painting even tho many muralists claim they just leave the acrylic open to the elements. However, they often pick spots where their murals aren't brutalized by this much sun.

The installation.


You can see, if you click to enlarge, sun damage even on the front of the sign.

This is George Benson and Frank Cardoza, AKA, the "Mayor of Klamath River"drilling holes to secure the painting.












Voile'



After all the planning and anticipation, "Klamath River at Klamath River California" is installed and hanging for our community to enjoy.

It was a daunting project for me, not only because it was the largest painting I have done, 82" x 30", but mostly because my intention with this endeavor was to express the joy I feel living on the Klamath River. Describing the majesty of the Siskiyou Mountains with their rivers, creeks, and streams is beyond words. Hopefully the painting conveys this feeling to her viewers. Ahh...


Back to reality:

Now for the varnish regimen.

I used Golden Acrylic products for this project. Their Soft Gel (Gloss) has various uses, but in this case it's as an isolation coat to protect the paint itself from being grabbed by the varnish - should the varnish need to be removed and replaced. Two soft gel coats have been applied as of December 1.

The weather has been very cold in the mornings (high 20's to low 30's). But the afternoons have been getting into the 50's and 60's; so the isolation coats dried well.

I was inclined to just leave the isolation coat as a barrier against the weather until spring when things warm up. (as a side note, the weather was one reason the painting took so long to do, waiting for the 40 to 70 degree window where the curing and drying time is best.) So now, we are at a crucial stage and the weather continues to be a challenge.

December 3, I called Golden Paints to gain some confidence regarding the varnish. I was told by Ulysses that the isolation coat remains somewhat soft and pliable and it would not be a good idea to leave it un-varnished, as it will collect dust and dirt. Since the area is surrounded by a gravel driveway, it WILL be dirty and dusty all around the picture.

So off we went down river to the sign sight - me and my "expert varnisher" George, who has done maticulous varnish work on Teal (our sail boat).










The painting has a richer - more in depth look, now that it is shiny and sealed.

Before -

After

(That's a heavy shadow on the left)


I also applied Nacerous White to the mountains so that at certain angles, they look snow-covered.

It is December 7 and upon last check the first coat of varnish was a little "soft" feeling, not tacky; but soft. So we'll give it all the time it needs to cure. This morning it was 26F when we awoke, yesterday 22F. So the drying time is really slowed and putting on another coat will only delay drying even further. So we wait.

That, my friends is the saga of the mural at the Klamath River Commiunity Hall. It was installed before the Turkey Shoot held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Many of the people who saw it that day and since have commented thru smiles that they like it and its "colorfulness". Thank you for the accolades!

luv/joB

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