The city of Boulder’s office of Arts and Culture has been a great resource for the city for many years (and even had a hand in my first ever mural commission), and during these crazy covid times they issued a call for neighborhood arts projects connected to some small grants. I originally was trying to paint a topo mural of my neighborhood on some local fences, but after not being able to get ahold of any neighbors with good fence real estate, I started talking with some great neighbors I had previously interacted with. I approached them asking if I could affix a mural to one of their fences, and they asked if there was anything I could do with this giant dead trunk in their yard. That got my creative brain wheels spinning for the first time in a while during covid.
Their tree was struck by lightning a couple years ago, and I vividly remember when that happened. My dog didn’t used to be afraid of fireworks or lightning, but after that night he gets nervous when the thunder starts.
With the help of a neighbor, we painted along the natural cracks and grain in the tree, with one bright yellow accent line to signify the lightning. Also, some great accents on the wrinkles at the bottom of the tree. Enjoy!
