Rainbows for Your Rainy Day
Hi Friends,
We’ve had a lot of rain here lately in the Bay Area. I feel like I’ve been at my desk on a “rainy day schedule” for months. We are on the cusp of what will surely be a beautiful spring and I can’t wait to get back out into the world and paint some walls. In the meantime, I will share a few rainbows with you…
But first: a stormy weather story. After that it will be all rainbows, I promise.
I was painting a residential mural in San Francisco in November when I managed a career first: I got the scissor lift stuck in the mud. It was just a little stuck when I left Friday afternoon, figuring I would have a better shot at figuring out how to get it out when I was fresh the next day. The next day, it rained. When I came back out two days later it was really stuck. The dirt had turned to mud. I first tried with my van jack (see photo below) and promptly snapped the jack. I called around for help, including assaulting all the able-bodied men at the local Kragen, but came up short. I moved to Plan B and picked up a hydraulic 2 ton lift, and used the extra boards and shovel I had brought to construct a base and ramp. I am leaning into the idea that any diminishing of my physical capacities is compensated by the increased cleverness born of experience. My calculations were correct and I drove that baby out of the mud on my first try. Yes, I literally dug myself out of that situation and the victory was sweet. In another derring-do, I had a 1-inch clearance on the sides and top of the side gate through which I had to slide the scissor lift through. With narrow success (not a scrape!), I again felt like a rock star.
On the whole, residential clients who commission a two-story mural in their backyard are not the nervous type. If my clients did totter at any point during my McGyvering, they were gracious enough not to show it; they were supportive throughout. It was a nail-biter, but there were smiles all around over the finished product. Their garden will be lush and gorgeous in a few weeks, and they will enjoy their “Victorian- greenhouse”-inspired mural to complete their garden retreat.
I was thrilled to be back on site to paint another mural at the Auzurais housing development in San Jose. I poked my head into the courtyard to see how the mural I painted back in June looked in the finished space. Wow!
For this round, I painted two murals at the garage entrance from Auzurais Blvd into the complex. On the exterior wall, I painted a California towahee with water plantain. The construction fence was still up the last time I stopped by, but the top half of the artwork was already being enjoyed by patrons of iJava (highly recommended) next door.
The inside of the garage features a Red-breasted nuthatch with California thistle and meadow barley. The color palette of the illustrative elements matches the courtyard lupine and Mission blue butterfly mural.
I had the good fortune to visit Iguazu Falls in Argentina this December. Not only is it the largest waterfall in the world, it’s pretty much a rainbow factory. Buenos Aires is a city full of murals. Here are some of my highlights:
I also made it over to Valparaiso, Chile. Valpo embraced mural art early and is well-known for its streets chock full of art, side by side down almost every city block. A handful of my Valpo highlights:
In recent years my beloved 2002 Eurovan has been asking for an early retirement package by spending more time in the repair shop than getting me where I need to go. I wanted my next vehicle to be electric, but I could no longer wait for the new electric VW bus, which they had been claiming for 3 years was imminent. My number one priority for my next car (besides being electric) was cargo space (ahead of heated seats, but only by a slim margin). Despite my resistance to the brand, the best option seemed to be the Tesla. After driving a big hippie van hand-painted with a dream catcher and feathers, (let’s call it a “big personality” van), driving a white Tesla gave me a small identity crisis. In my van, it was a hand-waving, chin-nodding festival as I lumbered around town. I sat unnoticed at stoplights in my vanilla white Tesla. I kinda missed my rainbow vibe. You all know where this is going, right?
I am a believer that art can solve most of the world’s problems, including this one. For my final rainbow share of the newsletter, my new wheels:
I was raised a surfer girl in southern California and wanted to bring back that 80’s OP surfer ouvre. I am all about site-specific artwork, so the rainbow lines follow the lines of the car, while nudging the vibe toward a lighter, more playful personality. Last week I fit two ladders, my painting cart, and all my mural gear inside (at once) to my own amazement. To top it off, the license plate MURALST was available. If you ever see me around town, wave hello!
Thanks for letting me share my rainbows. The sun might be coming out today, so happy Friday, and enjoy the blessed spring!
With love,
Morgan
