Independence mural design and community painting

We arrived back in Independence on July 1st to prepare the wall and start painting. I'm still working on the finer details of the color study. Here it is in process.

The design celebrates the Independence community as it gathers to watch the 4^th of July fireworks and contemplate the stars behind them. Framed by the brilliant and beautiful explosions of color, picnic goers and festival attendees share a moment of awe and wonder under the evening sky. The magical and playful scene up above is characterized by Independence inspired constellations including, the Kiddy Land shoe house, Riverside Park lion, symbol of Neewollah, riverboat (drawn by a local student a school), the Little House on the Prairie cabin, one of the fish from the mural painted previously on this wall and Miss Able in her rocket ship. In silhouette along the horizon are other icons of the community like Lady Justice, the Sinclair dinosaur, baseball stadium lights and fantastic Riverside Park slides.  Groups of figures on the right and left are symbolic representations of the diversity of Independence plus a few well-known characters. On the left waving is Alf Landon, Kansas Governor and Presidential candidate, and on the right a young William Inge seeking poetic  inspiration from the festivities.

The day after Independence Day we began painting. Making our way around exploded bottle rockets and firecrackers, we started blocking in background colors for the evening sky and silhouettes along the horizon. More than 60 energetic volunteers came out to help.

Mural on day 3