I painted this mural on the old stables in Kiama overlooking Surf Beach. The project was self directed, a local graffitti artist suggested I should try paint this wall back in mid 2016. After approaching council it was suggested I apply for a grant. After first failing to gain a grant I was successful on the second attempt and then once all approvals were gained I was able to start the piece over twelve months later.
Painting murals always has its challenges, it is one of the things I enjoy about painting large scale public pieces. The first day of this piece there was a few interesting challenges I've never had to deal with before.
I've had to deal with bad weather before be it rain, wind or even extreme heat but I have never had to contend with the ocean before. Prior to painting the mural I was watching the weather forecast as there was the possibility of rain and wind. The forecast for the weather looked good but I didn't check the surf forecast as I've never had to contend with large waves crashing literally at my feet whist I painted. At the western end of the mural I was coping a lot of sea spray every time a large wave hit the rocks but as I worked my way east sketching up the mural I was coming closer and closer to the rocks and by the time I was sketching up the horse the waves were landing right behind me.
Once I had the mural sketched up I took a break and placed my work platform behind the pine tree and then sat in my car twenty metres away to get out of the sea spray and waves. Whilst I ate some food with my back to the wall I guess some opportunistic individual thought my platform was up for grabs. When I went back to work I was shocked to find it had been stolen. Lesson learned I guess.
Approximately one hour after my platform had been stolen I had a visit from the Police. Apparently someone had called the cops because they thought I was illegally painting the wall. I found it rather humorous that I was being considered the villain when only an hour earlier I was the victim.
It was an eventful first day and thankfully the next two days went relatively smoothly although I did get lucky in the final hours when a storm past by just to the north.
Every artwork tells a story and also creates one.