COME AND SEE IT FINISHED!

If you live in Utah, or will be in the Utah County area December 15-17th and you would like to experience the mural in person, I would be happy to take a group to to see it. Connect with Russell Ricks on Facebook and mention that you want to see the "GODZILLA MURAL". Look for the "event" called GODZILLA MURAL TOUR to RSVP for the event. It was fun to post and blog about it, but to really experience the gargantuan size of the mural, you have to come and see it in person.

I spent nearly 5 months on the project. Some days went really well as certain areas of the mural came together quickly. Other days, not as quick as I predicted. Still, I estimated in the very beginning that the mural would take until mid to the end of November. I finished it on December 1st. Not too bad for guestimating. During the last week, my younger brother Marty stopped by and gave me a good critique, then the client came in the shop just after I painted in a Bull Elk. He said he was very happy with the mural and on December 1st, after I told him that I think I was finished with it, he gave it a final approval.

I spent the following day, removing the masking from the edges, windows and fixtures and for the first time, I was able to step back, take a relaxing deep breath and really see the mural for the first time stress free. I felt really good about the effort we put into the project these past nearly 5 months. I then said a prayer of thanks to my Heavenly Father for the talents He gave me and for the financial blessings my family and I received this year. I also am grateful for my father, who opened the door to the art world and blessed my brothers and I with the best art training he could provide. Dad worked hard as an accomplished fine artist, created a nationally popular plein air painting school (Painting Vacations 1970-1985), in which he hired some of the best art instructors in the art world and he made sure we were a part of that experience. I miss dad. Be sure to sign up for the GODZILLA MURAL TOUR on Facebook. See you then!

FINISHED THE "GODZILLA MURAL" TODAY

The mural is now completed. It has definitely been a very enjoyable five months painting this project. I feel very satisfied with the end result and the client nodded his approval today. The next project down the road for the client is a few years away, but I will definitely be there for that one too.  What's on the agenda for us now? Well, we will be back in the studio working on paintings for the client's offices (30 in total). After that, I head to Scottsdale, Arizona for three months (January 9th - March 25th) where I will be painting and selling my easel paintings through the organization, Celebration Of Fine Art. Go to http://www.celebrateart.com for more detail on this opportunity. From there, I will continue blogging about my recent paintings and the activities at the event. See you later.