The research is complete, canvas stretchers are built, the canvas has been stretched, and the studio prepared to begin the painting of a mural for the new River Campus at Southeast Missouri State University, located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The River Campus will be home for the University’s new School for the Performing and Visual Arts program. It should be noted that this is one of the most ambitious programs for the arts in our state in a very long time. I am indeed honored to have been chosen to be part of the project.
For the next two years this will be the center of my attention. I don’t mind saying that for the past few months I have awakened in the middle of the night with this project on my mind. I was telling Sandy that painting a mural is like eating a bowl of pasta, sometimes the more you eat the bigger it gets. Placing the first marks on that beautiful white canvas is an activity that I postpone as long as possible. I know it will be months before a final product will start to emerge. Work has begun on the central theme of the mural, the great steamboat race between the Robt. E. Lee and the Natchez.

I will not go into a lengthy description of the work at this time. For a complete pictorial and written report on the progress, culminating with the installation of the work, please go to my website garylucy.com and click on the Mural Journal banner. I will be updating the Journal every two to three weeks. Because I think this can be a good teaching tool, please pass the information on to the educators in your area.

I would also like to extend an invitation for you to visit the gallery on a Saturday or Sunday to see the mural in progress. Since this will be a two-year project there will be time for you to see the mural progress more than once. But I will be firm about having visitors in the studio on weekends only. Painting requires a tremendous amount of concentration and I must stay focused during the week. I’m sure you can understand this aspect of my job. Multiple interruptions could easily turn this into a three-year project. So make plans to come visit on a weekend and we’ll give you the grand tour.

My River Studio

You will remember in last year’s Sketch Pad Notes, I mentioned that we had purchased an older houseboat, the River Rover, to use as a river studio. Work is still ongoing; however, as you can see from the photos, I am beginning to paint and work aboard her. 

As a matter of fact, I am writing my Sketch Pad Notes at my desk while at anchor, see photo. Writing has never been easy for me; however, the environment of the river and its inherent privacy on the River Studio, are very conducive to creative thoughts and production. The River Studio will also be a work location away from that big bowl of pasta, the mural, from which I will be able to retreat. She is currently docked on the Mississippi River and remains a work in progress. 

An Educational Gift Idea

I meet a great deal of people who tell me they have a son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter that appears to have a lot of ability as an artist. They always seem to ask, “What can I do to encourage their efforts?” One thing that has helped down through the years is a visit to the library. Most libraries have, or should have, an acceptable collection of books on techniques in the arts?painting, drawing, sculpture, etc. We tend to forget about this resource, don’t we? For over twenty years, I sat in on my friend Chuck SHOEmaker’s Monday night figure drawing class at East Central College. It was a chance to be a student again and an opportunity to talk to the students about art. Many of our serious discussions took place after class at our favorite watering hole over a few beers. In the 70’s, I think I read, or at least skimmed, 90% of the books in the East Central Library devoted to the visual arts. 

One Monday night I spent most of my time in the library looking for a few books that I remembered demonstrated a specific technique. I found a book and proceeded to check it out. It was a great book on painting techniques devoted to landscape painting. When I went to the main desk to check out the book, I noticed the book had not been checked out since 1974. This was 1988; and, the last person to check the book out was me. This upset me to realize that a book with as much to give as this one had remained on the shelf for fourteen years. I went back to the stacks and began to spot check books that I knew were good reference material. I found more than I remember that yours truly   was the last to visit. I went straight up to the drawing room and told Chuck I had a bone to pick with the students. I told them that when I came to drawing class in the future I wanted to see a new book in their book bags. You know, they did. And, many even admitted that they learned a few new tricks. Imagine that!

After a good trip to the library, I recommend the purchase of a sketch book, preferably spiral bound at least 9” x 12”. Get a good one. And, get a new one when that one is full. Drawing instruments can be as simple as a #2 pencil with many other options available. Blank pages are an excellent place to deposit your thoughts, creative and otherwise. Sketch books are not just for artists. They make great journals. I use them for drawing and to write a note or two. If this is a path you would like to follow, contact us at the gallery. We sell the sketch books I use; and, I have been known to personalize a few with a simple drawing of a good luck bird that I created a few years ago known as OSCAR BIRD. My advice for becoming an artist, is to get a sketch book and draw, draw, draw!

Murals From Originals

Recently St. Charles used  several of my images in their new Convention Center. In the photo, we have the lovely and talented Sandy in the main lobby with the reproduction of the painting “The Departure of Lewis and Clark from St. Charles, May 21, 1804”. My original painting was enlarged to 10’ x 21’ for use in this location. Technology has made giant leaps forward in the reproduction of artwork. We have had many requests  for my work to be enlarged and reproduced in this large format. The process produces outstanding results and is nowhere near the cost to produce an original that size. Contact us at the gallery if you are interested in using my work in your facility.

Lewis and Clark Work

As you know, I have been working with the Lewis and Clark theme for the past six years. This past year Lewis and Clark has been commemorated on a national basis. To give you an example of the far-reaching use of  my work, I have been so fortunate as to have my images dealing with Lewis and Clark reproduced 212 million times. The U.S. Mint in their national ads for the Lewis and Clark nickel reproduced my work 186 million times in a variety of publications such as Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and Better Homes and Gardens. The Lewis and Clark Bicentennial has allowed my work to be used in many creative ways.