El Presidio San Agustín del Tucson Mural
The Presidio San Agustín del Tucson is a recreation of the northeast corner of the old Tucson Presidio which was built in the 1760s as protection from Apache raids. The walls were re-created using local adobe. A large block wall was constructed on the south side. This is the wall upon which I painted the mural. It is a recreation of what Tucson would have looked like if you looked south into the main plaza in 1780. The mural is over 50 feet long and 13 feet tall. This project took 2 months to sketch out, get approval by the Presidio's committee of historians, and 4 months to paint. We actually started painting in March '07.
This first set of photos shows my progress over several months.
A blank canvas! 50 feet of cement - every artists dream :)
View from above
As we were painting, they were still building the reconstructed Presidio. 
Yes, its a construction site!
Me painting.
My son Dan painting
My son Gabriel painting the woman's garment.
The left section
The mid section
The right section
All three of my sons assisted me. Peter helped me get the drawing up on the wall at the correct size, angle and perspective. Gabriel and Daniel painted in all the background, and many of the figures.
The entire mural
We had to have it "complete" for the Grand Opening of the Presidio on May 19th. Afterwards we continued to work some of the areas, finally finishing in June. We worked in all types of weather.We were all wearing jackets in March when we started. By June, we were working early in the mornings before the 108 degree heat moved in. Now the Presidio is used for all sorts of activities and the mural is a backdrop for everything that happens there.
I didn't realize this would be such a high profile project. I was interviewed, videotaped, and photographed by every newspaper and television station in Tucson.
