Commissioned by the City of Lakewood in 2020, this 8-foot by 43-foot retaining wall at American Lake Park was transformed into a Northwest wooded scene, using the height of the wall to hold two cascades of water. The design was drawn as a composite of photos from several hikes, selecting the most appropriate features for this composition. This is also the first design that, beyond the initial pencil sketches, was prepared entirely in a digital format. The challenge of this mural was to simplify the image into about a dozen colors--fifteen in the end, and working digitally enabled me to keep precisely the same colors consistent throughout. I studied many of the old National Parks posters of around the 1950s, wherein the palettes were similarly limited, and recently created a "mural" on a door of Mount Baring from Barclay Lake in much the same style (see below right).  It was this style that made this American Lake Park mural possible to achieve both simplicity and the realism I was after. The two slogans and the South Sound Proud logo that I altered with colors within the palette were a first in my mural work, and were negotiated with the City from four down to these two. Other than these, I consider this the most exciting design I've committed to a mural. This was painted in June of 2021 during the first week of surprisingly wonderful weather for the region.

​A limited palette depiction of Mount Baring, from a hike to Barclay Lake in Washington.