Ribbon-Cutting on August 26th

After painting a wide swath of over 60 large murals across Canada over the past 30+ years, Canadian artist/author Michael R. Gaudet's latest mural (of monumental proportions) has been installed just outside the Village of Young, SK.

"Forever YOUNG" is twenty feet high and eighty feet long, mounted ten feet above the ground on a huge steel frame that is engineered to withstand gale-force winds. The mural is claimed to be the "World's Largest Free-Standing Mural".

This stunning photo shows the massive scale of "forever YOUNG" as the panels are installed.

Gaudet says, "I always use professional-quality artist's acrylics for my paintings and murals. These paints are considerably more expensive than exterior latex, however they are the superior product for murals. I usually shy away from painting directly on an existing wall, because a mural is only as good as the surface it is painted on. Instead, I use a specially engineered painting panel that gets installed on the wall. In the case of the Young project, we opted to build a structure on which to install my mural."

"I will begin a mural project by collaborating with the stakeholders in order to come up with an authorized design. Once this happens, the rough sketches are upgraded to a scale drawing that is suitable to be replicated as a limited edition print. The print can then be marketed in order to raise funds for the mural. This is a formula for success."

The mural "forever YOUNG" faces the busy #2 highway just south of Young, SK.

The "forever YOUNG" mural features thirty-one images in a "montage" style design. All of these scenes and people are recognizable. They are sourced from the Young history book and also from private photograph collections from the community. In the coming days, a "legend" will appear on the left-hand side of the mural. This legend will feature an outline of every aspect of the mural that will have a number designating its meaning. Below this will be a list of all the pictures that will allow viewers to identify all of the images.

"This huge mural was very challenging to paint," continues the artist. "Not only was it a lot of physical work, at one-thousand six-hundred square feet, but the images themselves were very detailed and rigorous painting. My technique calls for about fifteen glazes over the entire surface, so in all, the painting entailed about twenty-four thousand square feet of application to finish. That's a lot."

Plans are underway to celebrate the completion of the "forever YOUNG" mural with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 26th, 2017. Everyone is invited to attend. Come out to lend your support to this astonishing accomplishment, inspired by the never-quit attitude of the planning committee. 

About the Artist/Author:

Taking a pause for the cause while working on the "forever YOUNG" mural.

Please visit www.mrgaudet.com to read more and to purchase a copy of "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality".

Book 2 Getting Closer to Publication

This is a widget. Click through to read my latest "Kickstarter" update.


About the Artist:

A Very Positive Reception at Queen's House Retreat

Yesterday I attended a meeting at Queen's House Retreat Center in Saskatoon.

Last week a couple of ladies dropped in to see us here at "G-G's Gallery & Gifts" at Manitou Beach. For those of you that have been following, you will know that this is the seasonal business that my wife Sharon and I have been running for 9 years now. The ladies were excited to meet us and shared the germ of an idea... that I should rekindle my connection with Queen's House Retreat... just to see what might happen.

I started to think about that and decided that yes, I would set up a meeting.

Well! It was a wonderful, inspiring half an hour!

I guided the Director and the Program Director through my mural-painting portfolio and also read a few select passages from my 1st book "Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality".

I was informed that Queen's House is especially dedicated to the "Trinity" and also to the stewardship of the Earth. These two salient fact sat very well with me, as the themes have loomed large in my artistic journey.

"Earth Angel" is my gift to all my fellow humans...

Suffice to say, my meeting at Queen's House was "pregnant with possibility". In the meantime, I have another large (100' x 12') mural to paint this summer...so that means I will be busy with that (and life in general) until the fall of '17. 

Stay posted, the creative fun is still going full-steam!

About the Artist:                       

To Read More, Please Visit www.mrgaudet.com

"World's Largest Business Card"

Timeline: July 5th, 2017...

After waiting for  almost five years for the Young Centennial Committee to get their ducks in a row, my patience has been richly rewarded. I was on site to capture stunning images of the massive mural installation.

A scissor lift capable of ascending 40' into the air was pressed into service.

A combination electric and hydraulic lift was brought on-site. The large working platform, in tandem with a tractor with fork-lift, made ideal equipment to lift the heavy panels into their respective positions on the massive frame.

This shot gives a good impression of the scale of the frame.

The scissor lift requires outriggers when extended high up in the air.

In the above picture, you can see the huge ( 16" diameter) steel posts that were deemed necessary to hold the 20' x 80' expanse of painted panels. The structure was engineered to withstand very brisk winds. Also, considering the predominant (prevailing) winds come from the northwest, the infrastructure is oriented to "slice" into the wind, rather than face it like huge sail.

The aforementioned tractor and fork lift can be seen to the left, carrying the next panel.

Now that you have seen some of the (later) highlights of the installation, here is the finished product...for your viewing pleasure:

The finished installation of "forever YOUNG" at Young, SK.

Once the "forever YOUNG" mural was completely installed, I decided to create a quick video, on my phone. I posted the video on Facebook that afternoon and within about 24 hours, 9,700 viewers partook of the great fun.

About the Artist/Author:    

  Please Visit www.mrgaudet.com

        

Purple Glaze all in my brain...

Advancing with iron-willed determination with the remaining few square meters of red glaze...already anticipating the rush of 'purple glaze'...

There. That should just about do the trick for the application of the translucent red glaze. Time to crack open my ( probably ) most favorite glaze...purple! Or, more accurately, dioxazine violet if you want to be exact.

Can you spot the encroachment of violet?

Everything really pops with the addition of a translucent violet glaze. Suddenly the shadows start to make themselves known and the earthiness of these first three glazes with all of their infinite intermingling becomes apparent.

You can see the steam engine grows bolder and more powerful looking with the addition of violet. Maybe I am getting just a bit ahead of myself but I thought I would have a little fun with some steely blues to create the beginning of an impression of reflective iron on the front of this huge machine. Rules? What rules? It still has to be fun!

The composition of the first several objects starts taking shape with the gradient blue bits adding incredible depth and perspective.

There's something about atmospheric blue that intrinsically suggests depth and atmosphere. I think our brains via our eyes are hard-wired to accept this color as meaning "far far away", especially when it is a graduated tone from quite light on the bottom to rich as it ascends into space.

The cluster of figures just to the right of the train begin to dramatically come into their own once the violet glaze is applied. This glaze interacting with the previous red and orange glazes set on a base of golden flesh color begins to set up a dynamic surface tension that starts to convince the eye that the various shadows, highlights and contrasting shapes are surprisingly life-like.

Progressing to the right with the violet glaze forces the images to stand out in vivid contrast to their so-called 'negative space'.

I usually start my day with a certain goal in mind. This picture was taken yesterday...the goal was to to tease out the horse and buggy from the background and also to tidy up a variety of smaller details. Mission accomplished!

You can see the steady advancement of the violet glaze popping features out of the golden-flesh field.

One final parting shot from up on the sixteen foot step ladder...we have been here before! I think one more day will suffice to finish the purple glaze. Then it's on to...pthalo blue. Just wait, you will see the shadows and contrast pretty much leap off the page with the blue. But you already know that if you have been following.

One added pleasure for me while working away on the mural is when visitors pop in to check out my progress and (in general) cheer me on...as this is truly a marathon of painting. I try not to think too much about the formidable scale of this piece and just stick to the program...paint, paint, paint. Rest, drink, snack, paint, paint, paint.

'forever YOUNG' Mural goes Public

It was so gratifying for both myself and the organizers that there was SUCH a good turnout for the first official 'sneak peek' of the mural-in-progress. Not that surprising though, Young is a very strong community, proudly rooted in their pioneer past with an eye to the future while savoring the 'precious present'!

More and more people streamed in as the delicious aromas of barbeque-d burgers wafted through the air...

There was a lot of discussion and story-telling as people reminisced about their fore-fathers -and mothers. It seems that the experience of seeing family connections immortalized in the mural sparks vivid memories for today's residents of Young.

We had to keep bringing more tables and chairs down from the upper deck to accommodate the steady influx of curious visitors for the 'sneak peek' of the mural-in-progress.

Ice-cream played a pivotal role in celebrating the day. Nothing tops off a delicious burger like a couple of scoops of the good stuff!

I was impressed with the excellent attendance, but not very surprised. If I can say one thing about the Village of Young for sure, it is that they have an incredibly strong community spirit!

Mmm, good burgers and pop were enjoyed by all. Hot dogs too and let's not forget the ice cream! I was so happy that people of all ages, from seniors to toddlers and everything in between came out to enjoy the sneak peek celebration. One of the greatest forms of 'job satisfaction' for me is the interaction with people who all relate in one way or another with the mural. So this was a very powerful affirmation of community spirit. Everybody at the event felt, I am sure, a sense of quiet pride and solidarity that there community has marshaled their resources to initiate this ambitious project. Remember, we are talking about a very small, yet tight-knit community here of only about 200 residents. So really, the outpouring of support for this project is quite phenomenal!

My Blue Period...Really Really Blue.

I took this pail of 'pthalo blue' glaze out of the rink out into the natural light so you could see the actual hue of blue. This pthalo blue is the next glaze to be painted in the shadowy areas for extra oomph. Watch how the figures etc REALLY start to come into their own with the addition of this glaze. Soon it will be time to start in with the LIGHT colors...natural tones in a white base.

 

Zooming in to show the slowly building intensity that is created in the shadowy areas with the addition of the pthalo blue glaze on the right-hand sides of the prominent portraits in the upper left-hand corner of the composition.

You can plainly see the difference the pthalo blue glaze makes in the dark shadows on the right-hand side of the large portraits. The lights are coming down the pipeline soon!

A distant shot shows my fairly rapid advance to the right-hand side with the pthalo blue glaze. Every glaze up to this point has been almost transparent. Nothing gets buried. The end result is a warm, glowing, natural-looking technicolor effect because of all the intermingling hues.

I think I mentioned earlier that each glaze gets a bit quicker...mainly because by now the layout and design elements are like well-worn slippers.

Blue Skies, Nothing but Blue Skies...

The long high tall view shows how the shapes on the 'horizon' of the mural really start to POP with the introduction of blue.

Making the transition from golden to orange to blue in broad sweeping strokes.

Now certain things are really starting to recede while other things come into the extreme foreground. Just a taste of what's to come.

You can see that the 'painting drama' is starting to take on a life of its own now that the planes are being established. By 'planes' I mean the back, middle and foreground. It's all illusory of course but on this scale the visual effect - when executed with finesse- can be just stunning.

The 'yellow' in this shot is a bit exaggerated because of the ambient light.

A distant shot -standing as far away as possible inside the hockey rink; right inside the score-keeper's box.

Believe it or not, it took an entire day of painting to intensify the blue into a richer zone in the upper reaches of the atmosphere along the top edge of the mural. Between mixing the glazes, mounting and positioning the scaffold and oh yeah PAINTING the hours flew by. Once a decision is made on a project of this magnitude, you have to be prepared to dig in and just do it!

Is the sky finished you ask? Well, no. It will be positively electric when completed. In say, about 3-4 additional glazes.

  

I am happy that so many of you are following my progress. Well over 8000 visitors have graced this blog with your presence since the beginning of this project over three weeks ago. Thank you for all your support and interest, it means a lot to me.


Till next time...

Power to the Purple!

My computer-generated mock-up that demonstrates approximately how the finished mural will  appear.

Transparent Dioxyzine Violet ...when applied over the precedent glazes of orange and red increases the voracity of the shadows and also warms up the overall tone into the golden zone.

I made it almost three-quarters of the way across the wall on my first purple day. Yeah, nowadays I relate a day's work in terms of the color I'm into.

Each successive glaze gets a little faster as I am becoming more familiar with the lay of the land so to speak. Although admittedly there is a lot of ground to cover so the process can only be sped up so much.

The strong portraits that anchor the upper left-hand side of the composition are just starting to come to life now that the purple glaze has been initiated.

This photo clearly shows the Power of Purple. OK, violet. Transparent violet. Can you guess what glaze hue comes next?

A high, distant view shows the steadily emerging forms on the horizon as each glaze tends to more definitely articulate a contrast between light and shadow. Don't forget...there has not been a drop of light-colored glaze added as of yet. All of the light you see at the moment is simply the golden-flesh colored base.

I was happy to make it over to the far right-hand side of the first eighty-foot swath of purple glaze. (Purple Glaze, all in my brain...lately things just don't seem the same...)