Ever wonder how Fin, the giant salmon was made? Well here is, "How Wild Olympic Salmon Built a 25 foot long salmon in 1988"
Andrea has now successfully completed mural restoration, so we chatted with her to hear a little more about her process.
What were your initial thoughts about painting the inside of a Giant Salmon?
It sounded exciting! But, once I started, it proved to be more involved than I originally thought. There were a lot of chipped areas, and the original artists really did their research and were extremely detailed. The mural consists of plants and animals that are native to this area, so painting the species as they are found in the wild, proved to be a challenge.
Andrea painting inside Fin
Had you ever been inside Fin before?
I had been in or partially in years ago when my children were small. I had also peeked inside on numerous occasions before, which isn't the same, is it? Being inside is like nothing else! Once I got inside with the intentions to paint, I observed the fabulous murals in detail and found all sorts of wonderful flowers and animals. I never noticed the tiny dragon flying! Next time you're in there, look for the dragon!
What was the process like, did you have to prep, sand, finish, etc.?
Yes! I cleaned the surface and sanded. Once sanded, I filled the deeper chips with an acrylic molding paste, and then primed the areas. You can see the white in the photo below. Finally, there was the painting (done with acrylic). I had to mix the colors to match what was previously painted, this was at times very challenging to get right. I'm very pleased with how close I was able to get it. And then the final painting was coated with a clear protective coat!
before
after
Did you come across any logistical challenges while painting?
There were many difficult logistics of painting inside Fin. First of all, it gets very hot inside Fin. Second, it's an uneven surface and I couldn't even stand up. At one point, I was sliding down the river from the tail trying to hold onto the sides with my feet so that I could paint way back in that narrow area! I also painted a lot on my back and in various odd positions. Can't say I've had many projects that require pre and post yoga.
Was it hard to "pick up the threads of another artists work," and paint like them?
I'm pretty good at seeing how an artwork is done and reproducing it. I've had years of painting experience in different mediums and studying art, so that wasn't so hard. The art was created by multiple artists anyway, so I felt that I was contributing my effort to the mix.
How long did it take you?
I think it was around 115 hours! There was also all the time I spent researching that I didn't even count... I had to figure out what kind of paint was used and what works best with fiberglass.
Fin's been teaching our community about Salmon for 30 years, you just brought her back to life for another 30 years! How does that feel?
It feels wonderful. It's been great working with NOSC (mostly with Nancy Erreca)
who was great at supporting the project. I love supporting NOSC and the important work Fin does in teaching our community about habitat and the salmon cycle. Fin is a unique and creative way to bring awareness to the community. It's fun to be a part of something big, like a giant fish!
a 5th grader enjoying Fin
To Learn more about Andrea, head to her website
