This mural is located in the conference room at Blaske & Blaske attorneys in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They welcome visitors if the conference room is not being used. This mural spans all four walls of the conference room. It is based on drawings and maps of Ann Arbor, circa 1860. Some of the buildings included in the mural are still a part of downtown Ann Arbor, the others I had to do quite a bit of creative work on to determine colors, construction and orientation. The view of Ann Arbor is from the northeast on the highest part of the city, near where Spring Street is today.

These two slides show the process of painting a historic mural. I start with a light under painting of sepia tones and slowly build up the color depth. The key to historical murals is to keep the vibrancy low. Their selection of colors was not what we have today. Historic paints were made with natural materials, instead of the chemically produced ones we have today.

These slides show details of the final mural from lower town on the south wall to the inset corners. My dog even signed the mural with his paw print. The Blasky’s love their dogs and so three dogs are immortalized in this mural. It was a great joy to have my dog with me during the painting of this mural.