Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

The Mural Is Complete!

Look At The Beautiful Detail!

Chair Rail Has Been Added & We're Closing in on Completion!

The builders have added the chair rail and finished painting all of the walls (except for the soffit). Andrew, Mike & Kym still painting...
The nights have gotten a little warmer since most of the ceiling is in place, as well as temporary exterior walls where large windows will be installed at a later date. Large shop lights help, as well.

Our protective framing has been removed and Mike shown here is finishing up the final details of the mural.

Finally, Brian cuts, stains & installs trim to match the chair rail & frame each of the murals.

Getting Close...

Adding more and more color....

Adding more and more detail...

Adding Some Detail In The New Year

After a short New Year's break, we got back to work adding some detail.

This week went slow because we were working nights and the nights were COLD! The building didn't yet have all it's walls or ceiling in place, and it was being kept above freezing by multiple propane heaters throughout the building. A couple times we had to cut the nights short because it was getting too cold for the paint to stay plyable.

Even with the temperature issues, painting continued...

What a great octopus!

New Year's Eve 2007

To help make the various colors of the coral reef pop, we painted a white background on all of the brightly colored foreground fish next.

With the help of Brian's brother Art, we were able to move forward on the base shades of all 3 walls.

Kym and Andrew adding more paint...
Here is where we finished on New Year's Eve.

Time To Start With Acryllics

Since Andrew & Mike's specialty is acryllic paint, they began painting the main body of the mural - the coral and grasses.

No matter how good a digital design is, when it is approached with a paint brush the design takes on the personality of it's artists. Andrew & Mike utilized the general outlines traced from the projector for the basic locations and outlines of the elements, then used their years of art school training to bring life to the design.

While they painted, Kym began mixing the 50+ paint shades custom blended to match the color palette chosen by Just Kids Pediatrics.

This project was not only a Graphics Galore project. It was more of a family project. We had many family visitors to see our progress and help. Shown here is Andrew's wife, Danielle adding some paint to the walls.

Finishing up on Sunday

Since it was the weekend, we had the building to ourselves, but this will change starting Monday. Because the building is still under construction, we felt it was necessary to protect the mural while it was not being worked on.

Brian installed a frame composed of 1x3 lumber, located exactly where the final trim will go, so as not to interfere with the ongoing construction. Then he placed a 1/2" insulation sheeting overtop to keep any accidental bumps or splashes from damaging the mural.

This is how we left it on Sunday, and how we will leave it every day until just before the doctor's office opens, when construction is complete.

We have decided to work nights from here on out, to avoid too much interaction and disruption during construction.

Applying The Design To The Wall

Since the design was so intricate, we decided to utilize technology to help transfer the design to the wall. Since the design was created digitally, we decided to use a laptop projector to display the design on the wall. This was a big time saver!!!
Kym & Andrew set up the projector to scale and traced the design onto the wall. By the end of Sunday, all three walls were completely traced and ready for acryllics!

Removing The Plastic - Day 2 - 12/23/07

After all the background paint was dried, we removed the plastic lining and prepared the walls for the next stage.

Painting the Background

Using 3 matte, latex background shades, Brian used his magic with the paint sprayer to apply the background gradient.

Protecting the Walls

After taping off the mural frame, we lined the walls and soffit (drop ceiling) with plastic to ensure no mess and a clean finish.

Getting Started - Day 1 - 12/22/07

Graphics Galore Team:

Kym - Owner, designer, painter

Andrew - Artist, painter

Mike - Artist, painter

Brian - carpenter/craftsman, artist, painter

We started Saturday morning, by priming the incomplete wall. Using the measurements of the walls, we centered and leveled the mural frame for all three murals. Then we taped off the mural frame, leaving some leeway for the chair rail and the trim around the mural.