Boom Truck Baby

 I've been commissioned to do a painting of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. The finished piece will be 3x5'. I've been working with the client on possible view angles and it's come down to two possibilities, one being from the Southwest corner. This angle showcases the mountains in the background (including the temple's namesake) and the light playing well off of the architecture. Here's the catch: from the SW corner, one can barely see the temple because of the trees. Even if you're standing next to the temple with the trees behind you, the perspective of the temple is so extreme that the composition is horrible, like you're an ant looking up at the giant structure.

 Enter James and Shelby Arrington, my good friends and fellow artists. Last week they were on location with me and we were brainstorming  how to get around the tree trouble. Photoshop? Ix-nay. James thought of a boom truck. Yessss. So, thanks to Ron and Jesse Dean of A+ Affordable Tree Service and their boom truck, I got the shot I needed from the angle I needed. It was also a small miracle to have the weather window we did - January has been nothing but rain, clouds and hazy inversions blocking the view of the mountains.

I'm glad today is over with. Phew.

Jesse, my operator

Shelby, my documentor and fellow artist-friend 

...still wearing my kneepads, having just come from volleyball...what a day...

from the sidewalk, blocked by trees (but otherwise an awesome angle of the temple and mountains)

from the air, out of the blasted trees - cool huh!?

Now I have to do some cutting and pasting of the temple and mountains to bring the mountains back down to eye-level...the work begins. Check back to this blog in a few days to see what's happening next!