Joplin - Painting Begins

The 100+ degree heat couldn't keep away more than 275 volunteers who came out to kick-off painting of the mural. Plenty of cool drinks, sandwiches, and fresh fruit donated by friends kept the painters fueled, while I worked double-speed, like a hot-shot barista, to mix enough colors to keep their brushes busy.

We started at the bottom and gradually worked our way up the wall so our smaller volunteers wouldn't have to climb the scaffold

Painters checked in with mural assistant Amber Hansen before they got their assignments.

Heather, an artist from the neighborhood, lent us a tent to provide a welcome spot of shade.

Colors for the mural are based on the color study we developed using cut-paper collage. To see a short film of this collage process from our project last year in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, click here.

We continued by blocking in large areas of color in the background before working on details.

After a week or so of painting...