The Seasons of Life Mural

Located on Road 426 in Oakhurst, California
A small portion of the 195-foot-long mural is shown below.

Dedication

In a joint effort, the students of Yosemite High School, the Guild of Mountain Artists, and Vision Academy have joined hands as volunteers to create a spectacular 195-foot mural in the village of Oakhurst, California.

This Sierra Mountain village is at the southern gateway to Yosemite National Park, the students decided the theme of the mural should be the surrounding beauty around Oakhurst, including views of Yosemite National Park, Bass Lake, and other examples of the local scenery. Further, the students came up with the idea of showing these scenes in all four seasons as well as all parts of the day.

After naming the project "The Seasons of Life", the students set out to obtain all the necessary permissions for the project. The County of Madera Board of Supervisors was approached in order gain permission for the project to be painted on a large 1,500 square foot concrete retaining wall, built as part of the rebuilding and leveling of Crane Valley Road in Oakhurst. This main thoroughfare is traveled by up to 15,000 vehicles a day.

The students also appealed to the Board of Directors of the Oakhurst Community Church, which rests virtually atop the wall on the hill above the mural. This was an exercise in "active citizenship" spurred on by YHS instructor John Minkler - working within the community to get things done and all the intricacies of dealing with government, committees, and commercial entities. Nothing gets done in a community without cooperation among many groups.

In the advisory mix were (in nearest photo at right) YHS student Kim Eames (L), and mural producer, Maggie Elliott (R), and Jane Gyer (left, in far picture), who spent many hours assisting the students in making their dream come true, observing Jane in the photo is student Frances Fouch. Jack Gyer and Jim Elliott served as technical directors, coming up with the answers to many difficult problems such as the tendency of the wall to "weep" as water filters through the porous concrete, how to handle painting over expansion joints, french drainpipes, and the elements the mural would be exposed to.

The technical directors worked tirelessly in researching the proper paints to be placed on the concrete as the "canvas" for the mural. Many special mixes, colors, and types were tried, and ultimately the decision was to use a special acrylic compound. True Value Home Center of Oakhurst provided the paints at cost. Among the first problems the technical people encountered were the oil spots left by the forms when the wall was originally poured. This oil, still on the surface, prevents any water-based paint from adhering. So the wall first had to be degreased.

In the meantime, Jane Gyer was working with the students to develop the complicated design of the mural with pencil and pen sketches of various scenes around the Sierra Mountain area, and soon a sweeping vista was developed. The students decided the mural should be impressionistic rather than realistic. The objective was not to create a photographic image but a broad representation of mountain scenery.

After the initial drawings were completed, the next step was to do a scaled-down mockup of the mural - exactly to a scale so that when squared off, each one-inch square would represent one square foot of the real mural. Using every bit of her 40 years of experience in painting, artist Gyer painted the entire mural in sections, so they could be used later for reference by the painters The entire original painting is shown taped to the side of Jim Elliott's truck below.

Once confident the design was complete, the students, overseen by their advisors began painting several full size sections of the mural on hardboard. This was to serve two purposes. One, to see how the scaling of the original stood up to full size, and to have something to show the local community that would represent the immensity of the project. The Community Church (Bless them!) donated storage sheds to keep the materials for the mural, so their grounds provided the perfect place for this task; close to the actual wall for reference, and close to the painters' materials. It is a standard in the imaging world that things look clearer and sharper when they are reduced in size, but you never know what will happen when you enlarge them. This process served to assure the proportions of the original drawings and paintings were stable.

STEP #1 - PREPARING THE WALL
After the entire 195 foot length of the wall had been carefully cleaned and was dry, it was painted entirely in a color close to the ultimate sky color to be used in the project. This was the most important coat since it is what the entire painting "hangs on". The paint was a special mixture which penetrates the porous surface of the concrete, expanding in the tiny natural holes and dimples for better adhesion. Earlier, volunteers from Yosemite High School poured a sidewalk at the base of the mural so mud would not splash onto it during rains and to provide a smooth walking surface for those passing by or wishing to get a closeup look at the mural.

STEP #2 - SKETCHING THE MURAL
Above, students and artists are shown transferring, very carefully, the dimensions of the original squared-off mockup to the wall - 1-inch to 1-foot. This critical process established the dimension for every part of the picture - the size of trees, rocks, buildings, animals - all playing a part in creation of the realistic-impressionistic look of the final product.

STEP #3 - THE PAINT SKETCH
Next, each pencil line had to be made permanent by going over it with a brush and various colors of paints, giving an outline that would later be overpainted with the details and look of the final project.

This process also allows the artists to begin committing details - such as additions that help show depth and proportion - note indications on the trees which show the "roundness" of their trunks and branches.

As sections of the paint sketching were completed, large areas of basic flat colors were laid in to later serve as background of rocks, bodies of water, trees and other masses. In the smaller picture at right, Brian Kincade works on "his tree", while in the next picture Jan Claire, (on ladder), student Tracy Dunnicliff, and Maggie Elliott are working on the area of the mural featuring the bears.

STEP #4 - THE FUN PART: ADDING DETAIL
More than 25 gallons of acrylic latex paint were specially mixed by True Value Hardware to the specifications of the Art Director and Producer of the mural. These large quantities were then mixed down into painter's palettes so each artist had available a full range of colors for the area of the mural they'd work on that day. The group including those at left, Maggie Elliott, Frances Fouch, Tracy Dunnicliff, and Heather Simon, painted early Saturday and Wednesday mornings as it was now Summer, 1997 and the day's heat not only was a problem for the artists after around 11:00 a.m., but it also caused the quick drying acrylic paints to harden right on the brush!

Acrylic paint is a plastic, and quite expensive. Latex paint is a rubber-like product and not so expensive. So the mural is a mixture of latex for large areas, and acrylic for smaller details. Further, because latex has wonderful adhering qualities, it was used more for under-layers of the mural, while acrylic, known for its light-fastness and toughness, was used for later coats, brighter colors, and small detail work in the final coat. Not only were the artists concerned about painting a mural that stretches from Winter through the other 3 seasons, left to right, but also night through day and back to night again, but they had to be concerned about which paint to go on which layer! Pictured above, Brian Kincade (Foreground) behind are Jane Gyer, left, student artist Nathan Rees, middle, and Maggie Elliott, right.

Because there were areas of the mural which had been drawn in such a way that they merely needed to be colored, anyone in the mountain community who felt the urge was invited to "come on down and paint with us", and soon a real community developed. Shown at left Julie Fauquier (on ladder) and Maggie Elliott go over coloration while Brian Kincade clings to the top of the highest section of the wall to paint the tree that forms the focal point of the mural.

Frequently passing motorists would slow to gaze at the day's progress, others would honk their horns in support - which frequently scared the wits out of the artists who were deep in concentration, but loved the sentiments anyway. And there were the passersby on foot or bicycle who would stop and chat, ask questions, and sometimes be talked into helping out!

Some days travel became so heavy on Crane Valley Road that traffic cones had to be put out to semi-close a traffic lane should one of the artists, unthinkingly step back to check their work! At near right, students Frances Fouch (L), and Heather Simon (R) go over the day's projects with Maggie Elliott (Center). Far right, Artist Beth Clark, a well known graphic designer, is shown painting the bears. She painted many of the animals, as well as the beautiful Native American girl in the swing.

Artist Phyllis Rouse of Chico, California attends to the area around the badger in the tree. This of course is a tribute to all the Yosemite High School students who made this project a reality. It has further been noted that merely touching a finger on the badger's nose brings good luck! We found this out this past Fall when a touch of the nose and a wish caused the Yosemite High Badgers to win their football game that week!

THE DEDICATION - MARCH 14, 1998

The Seasons of Life Mural was dedicated on the morning of Saturday, March 14th. Many special guests spoke including many mountain area dignitaries.

The students whose hard work and dedication resulted in the Mural also spoke, and the Yosemite High School "Badger Band" (at upper right) and the YHS Chamber Singers (at upper left) made beautiful music.

After the speeches and introduction of special guests, the students unveiled the new bronze plaque, shown at Left below, which will be mounted on the mural to permanently recognize everyone involved in the project. Sponsors, organizers and artists are all represented on this beautiful plaque which will find a home on the "Winter's Night" side of the mural.

Following the dedication, the invited crowd was invited to cross Road 426 and enjoy the mural up close. It is a stunning sight to see how broad sweeps of color applied seemingly at random, as viewed at such a close distance, become a beautiful 195-foot long picture by merely stepping back a few feet.

Even the weather cooperated, giving us a wonderful morning for the dedication ceremony, the day before - as the technical directors Jim Elliott and Jack Gyer were cleaning the area around the mural - a heavy hailstorm hit the mountain area leaving them soaked!

IN THE PICTURE BELOW, are the "movers and shakers" who should all be congratulated for their efforts in making the "Seasons of Life" mural happen. They are, from left to right, YHS Active Citizenship class teacher, John Minkler, students Frances Fouch and Heather Simon, Mural Producer, Maggie Elliott, Art Director, Jane Gyer, and students Tracy Dunnicliff and Gina-Marie

BRAVO EVERYONE!