Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

Welcome!

Welcome!
PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO MY RED BUBBLE STORE.

Monday 9 November 2020

Painting the Wellington Dam wall mural, Western Australia

 On Sunday we took a drive out through the beautiful Ferguson Valley to Wellington Dam in the Collie Hills to see the work in progress on the new HUGE mural being painted on the 367m x 34m wall face of the Wellington Dam, a surface area of more than 12,000 square metres. The mural is being created by Canberra born artist Guido Van Helton, who is renowned throughout the world for his photorealistic large scale murals. The mural is reputed to become the largest mural in the world painted by a single artist. Guido's work is amazing, you can see more of it here: https://www.guidovanhelten.com/projects

The wall will be the centrepiece of the new Collie Mural Trail which will include five additional murals, painted by five selected artists throughout the town of Collie. 

The work on the wall is accessed by a mechanical swing-stage which can be raised and lowered, however will need to be dismantled to move across the wall. 


For three weeks before he started on the project Guido met with people in Collie, asked about their lives, looked through their photo albums and collected photos. South West Times Press Reader



Guido Van Helton - 
 Our WA Parks - lead artist appointed to mega mural

First we looked at the wall from the lower level. From here you can really see the scale of the work. It will be amazing to visit a few times to see the work progress. 




About half way along the wall you can see where Guido has started sketches for another part of the mural. It really astounds me how these artists can work to such a large scale and get the proportions so correct, especially when he can't stand back and look. 

After viewing from the bottom we went up to the lookout for another view. From here we could have a closer view of Guido working. In the pic below you can see him painting with a large paint brush. He was also working with a paint sprayer. The wall surface is prepared before the work on the actual mural begins. 

It is midway between spring and summer here, so a good time to work - although it is raining here today! 

In the photo below can you see the piece of paper in his left hand? This is a photo he is referring to as he works. 


It truly is an amazing project and I look forward to seeing the final result in a few months, and bringing you more photos. 

Fore more information on this project (if you have questions about the paint being used refer here): Collie Mural Art Project

The Wellington Dam is located within the 17,000 hectare Wellington National Park, consisting of Karri, Jarrah and Marri forests surrounding the Collie River Valley.

Built in 1933, the Wellington Dam wall formed part of the Government public works program, designed to create hundreds of jobs for people during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. 

In 1990 the Wellington dam was discontinued as the primary source of potable water in the region. The State government announced in 2009 a $40 million package to upgrade the wall to today’s engineering standards. The dam wall is 34 metres high and 367 metres wide. The area is popular for recreation, walk and bike trails and camping at two designated camping areas, as well as water skiing and canoeing. 

We camped at Potter's Gorge at Wellington Dam a few years ago and went bushwalking on some of the trails. It really is a fabulous place to bush camp. I would really like to do this again.

Yesterday we just sat and had morning tea in the picnic area. Lots of people had their boats out enjoying the dam. It was certainly a lovely day for it - unlike the rainy day we have here today.


And of course there always has to be wildflowers. These pea flowers were glorious.

Mega murals are an immerging trend throughout the world, on buildings, grain silos, walls, roof tops and dam walls. They add vibrancy to a town or city and encourage people to stop and look. We have lots in Australia. You can see more about them in Australia here - Australian Silo Art Trail

You can read a few of my blog posts about a few places they can be explored in Western Australia by clicking on the links here: 

Rediscover street art Bunbury, Western Australia

Explore the painted silos art trail - Western Australia

Farm gate art trail, Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed seeing the start of the mega mural today. Do you have wall murals where you live? Perhaps you would like to tell us about them in your comments.

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

17 comments:

  1. Good Morning, Jill... we have fog here and cold temperatures, therefore it's holiday for my mind to another part of the World.
    The mural is an impressive mural. Here in Augsburg, there are street art artists, who paint on the housewall. A dam wall is special challenge indeed.

    Thank you for sharing.
    Happy MosaicMonday

    ReplyDelete
  2. Murals and paintings on a scale this large are truly amazing. To get shapes, people. and animals in the correct proportions is a real talent.
    Dawn aka Spatulas On Parade

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, that is super impressive! Those artists have so much talent. We don't have murals much around here, I live pretty rural and luckily no spray painted nonsense either!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I find it is interesting here in the regional city where I live where there are many murals that the graffiti painters do not damage them. Perhaps they respect art after all.

      Delete
  4. I'm amazed at the murals! My son has painted some big paintings and it amazes me that an artist can keep the big picture and proportions right. Enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great idea and amazing project on the dam! I love this idea.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So great that they are creating the mural on the dam! I would love to see more murals in places!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we have a lot of murals here in Australia - especially on silos. I love them.

      Delete
  7. Jill - I struggle with small drawings; the scale of this is staggering. And from a little photo! I am not always a big fan of dams, but if you already have one, what a fabulous way to turn it into a piece of art. And I admire that he is basing it on the people in the area. Thanks for bringing this ambitious project to the attention of everyone at Mosaic Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wonder if the mural will be obscured by the flow of water? I hope not - this is such a cool idea!
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2020/11/a-letter-found-at-world-war-ii-memorial.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The dam hasn't overflowed since 2014, and with climate change and less rainfall, I don't think it will be much of a problem.

      Delete
  9. This would be scary to get the proportions right! I like big, but I don't have a grid for this. Am glad Guido has! Thank you for sharing such an interesting art project with All Seasons! Sound you had a good time near the water:) Hope your wrist is healing well, and are near the point you can pick back up your art! The flowers a welcoming and bright. Have a fun week, Jill!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This defies belief. I can't get my head round how someone can translate a painting into something so huge. I look forward to seeing more os this mural in the months to come. Thank you so much for sharing this future masterpiece.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am always in awe of a brain that can paint this big - it is such a lovely trend to have these mega murals. This one is so impressive, thank you for sharing.
    Wren x

    ReplyDelete
  12. What an awesome project, it is going to be so impressive when it's complete. I'm sure it will be a major attraction for the town.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can't even imagine how they make that tiny image so huge! Great photos.

    Thanks for sharing your link at 'My Corner of the World' this week!

    ReplyDelete

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I read and very much appreciate every comment and love hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return.