From Here to There and Back, part 2

Started out not quite baked, but got there eventually…

I’m back with the second part of my Orlando mural adventure. In case you missed it, part one is here: From Here to There and Back, Part 1.

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Saturday afternoon came and went with one notable exception. As mentioned previously, the area of the mural is right next to a pool that residents use. Several did use the pool, as I kept myself glued to the mural in order to keep on schedule and keep my sanity with not being able to take advantage of the cooling waters. At least there was a nice consistent breeze and slightly cooler temperatures than Friday. Another thing that kept me going were the positive comments from residents who saw me working. It was validating because they have to live with it in that space, even if it’s not directly in their homes. By the time I left I felt confident in my progress and had the majority of the linear elements in place.

Sunday morning, last day to work and I still had a lot to accomplish. The best part was that the majority of that day’s work was tightening up the dark lines and laying in the turquoise elements running throughout the image. I checked out of my hotel, taking my bags with me to the site so I could go straight to the airport later that afternoon.

I managed to get the piece to a place where I could consider it done, looked it over and took some photos. At this point, there were a couple of things that needed fixing, so I kept going. With any kind of project like this, there’s bound to be something that goes awry at the last possible moment. The moment for me was realizing that the color of the top layer dried darker than anticipated. The dilemma was in order to fix the color and other smaller issues, I had to change my flight, book a new hotel room and stay in Orlando one more night.

I had to have a new room booked at a different hotel than I was at in the beginning because the old one had sold out its rooms. That was most likely because of a student sports tournament of some kind happening that weekend. The new room was a full suite at a place in the same area. A little dated, but big and comfortable with a full kitchenette, as well. I’ve never stayed in a hotel suite like this, so It fascinating thinking about how much people travel for work and the various places they stay at. This simulation of “home” felt kind of just off-kilter enough to be kind of eerie, especially since this felt like such a weird approximation. It felt like a movie set, that’s what comes to mind now.

I wasn’t pleased with having to choose to stay another day, but it was better to make sure the work was done to standards then rather than probably having to return to do it at a later date and have a more expensive expense. With Bridgette’s help (she lives in Orlando), I was able to get the right color the next morning and continue working. The difference in color was noticeably better. Another major learning experience was the fact that simple foam brushes are amazing when it comes to laying in final layers of paint. They hold paint well and are great with keeping clean edges. Since I have more to learn about making murals, I still approach them with the attitude of just making big paintings (which they are) and lead with using only paint brushes to make marks. The foam brushes are a real game-changer for me in this regard.

Clockwise from top left: Bridgette putting in some work, angled view of mural, a printed vinyl piece by Dana Hargrove can be seen across from my mural and a view of the piece as seen from alongside the pool

Not only did she pick up the right paint for me, Bridgette also showed up to assist with the final touches on the mural, for which I’m incredibly grateful. We worked through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon laying down a fresh layer of paint on the darker lines to eliminate transparent areas and touched up various other places.

Along the way to actually finishing, I found out that my return flight had been delayed by an hour and-a-half, which gave me time to kind of relax a little now that I was really at a stopping place with the mural. I hung out a bit longer after Bridgette left, packed up my materials and took a Lyft ride to the airport.

Settled in my seat on the plane while safety regulations and emergency information was being relayed. The captain announces an apology over the speakers for the delay, stating that “We had to change planes and wait a bit until they found a new one because the one we had was broken…” Not what I was expecting to hear, but the honesty was refreshing…I guess, lol! Needless to say, we made it back to Philly with no problems.

TM