In 2007 I was awarded a public mural commission by the City of Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada. Several murals have been painted in Sussex and the competition for receiving a commission is world-wide.
The outdoor mural was painted directly on the 30 ft by 40 ft. high south wall of the St. Mark's Anglican Church (which is in Sussex Corner, a small community within three miles of Sussex.)
I began work each day at 6 a.m. and worked until the south-facing wall became too hot to properly apply the paint. Then, by 5:30 p.m. the wall was in shade once more and I continued working until dark (about 8:30 p.m.) A couple days were overcast enough that I could paint all day straight through until dark. The mural took nine days to complete.
ABOVE:
Beginning the mural. It required five stagings of scaffolding to reach the top and even then it was a bit of a stretch to reach into the peak.
RIGHT:
I painted directly ---- In other words, I did not project an image and did not use a grid system. Instead, the entire mural was freely painted, as if a very large easel painting, with the exception that, due to the scaffolding arrangement, I started at the top and worked my way down rather than paint throughout the work as an easel painting is typically done.
LEFT:
City crews were available to remove scaffold stages as I worked my way down the mural. At five and then four stages high levels, the scaffolding was anchored to the wall with eyebolts to prevent it from tipping on the planks and grass.
BELOW: Once I reach the three scaffold stage level, I was able to have two sets side by side, which gave me greater freedom to paint across the mural instead of just within the reach of a 10ft wide platform.
LEFT:
The completed mural --- an autumn scene capturing the feel of the densely treed rolling hills of the Sussex area. An 1800s horse-drawn mail cart makes its way towards the then tiny hamlet of Sussex.
BELOW:
Close-up detail shows variety of brush handling that was used throughout the mural. Here, the yellow was dry-brushed to give the sparkling quality of sun backlit yellow autumn leaves behind the mail cart. Logo on cart based on information provided by the Sussex Post Office.
LEFT:
The church did not allow me to paint on Sunday. So I took the opportunity to see the local countryside. What I saw were beautiful rolling hills with plenty of deciduous trees for autum colors.
RIGHT:
Along the shores of the nearby Kennebecasis River, the tides have cut some spectacular caves. During my "day off" I went for a lengthy hike along the Fundy (Bay of Fundy) Trail. Wow!
For those wondering, yes, I drove to Sussex from my Lewistown, Montana home --- a roundtrip of about 6,000 miles. It was great to see the landscape transform from my high prairie home to the Atlantic Ocean shore.
Original Art for Home & Office
C. S. Poppenga
