Mural in progress: Map of Friendship, Maine

James Mundie
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Mural in progress: Map of Friendship, Maine
Mural in progress: Map of Friendship, Maine

In July 2021, I started a mural while staying in a house belonging to friends in Friendship, Maine. The house on Hatchet Cove is over a hundred years old, but had been sitting abandoned for many years after the last owner passed away. Since purchasing the house a few years ago, the new owners have been slowly fixing up the place to make it comfortable while maintaining much of its original character.

The idea behind the mural was to present a map of the area that conveyed the feel of the place, but could be added to over the years as new things are discovered (a good walk here, a good tidal pool there, a delicious meal there, etc.). Lobstering is still the primary occupation here and the colorful buoys litter the cove. I created some blank rectangles in the water where the buoy colors could be noted (whether real or imagined).

The direction of the map started with the compass rose, which was partly inspired by an antique map of fishing grounds along the entire Maine coast that I had admired in a place we previously rented in Belfast. I was also going for a quasi-medieval feel to the compression of space, blending two- and three-dimensional depiction of oversized landmarks. The coastline is proportionally correct, but the scale collapses toward the horizon. The water is filled with fanciful creatures, while the edges depict more naturalistic flora, fauna and geology (including loving depictions of the "very special rocks" and shells that often find their way into the kids' pockets).

I started drawing out the composition in pencil directly on the wall, using a Google satellite view as my initial guide. The receding horizon and border elements came into play once I had the "lay of the land" firmly established. I used two large ceramic serving bowls from the kitchen to trace the circles of the compass rose, then turned my attention to the finer points of lobster anatomy, which I realized required further reference (they've more legs than you think, for one). I then sketched in the location of the scroll and sea beasties.

I began painting in the final design in washes of crimson flashe, a French-made water-soluble rubber-based paint. After establishing the details and tonal balance, I then starting laying in washes of blue acrylic over the red - starting with the lobster and moving on to the water and other border items. I then glazed washes of yellow over the seaweed and ferns, before begin to lay in washes of green over the land masses - letting drips develop to create interesting textures.

I wasn't able to get any further than that during our stay. When I have a chance to return to it, I will spend more time on the horizon (green fading into distant blue), describing and labeling the landmasses and streets, and refining the border details further. There might even be new landmarks to add by then.

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Taken on: July 16, 2021
Sets appears in:   • Maine    • Friendship mural   
Groups appears in:   • Typography and Lettering    • Boing Boing    more » • drawing    • architectural photography    • DRAW!    « less
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