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One section of the mural on the back wall of the Del Oro Theatre in downtown Grass Valley was put up Monday, but work to install more sections has been put off because of the hot weather.
The first strip of the Del Oro mural is in place, but this week's heat wave has suspended the installation.
“It's just too hot,” said mural artist John Pugh from his Truckee studio Tuesday. “The whole thing can be done in a couple of months, but a lot depends on the heat.”
Pugh and his crew have been sporadically preparing the two walls of the movie theater for the mural, which will depict the area's mining history and its change in attitude toward the environment. Over the past year, Pugh and his crew painted the mural on strips in his studio.
“I'm working on it here when I'm not there,” Pugh said, finishing the strips that remain to be installed and doing touch-up work.
In Grass Valley on Sunday, the artist and his crew had trouble putting up the first strip because the heat caused the acrylic gel, used to glue the strip to the wall, to dry too fast.
So Pugh will wait until at least Thursday or Friday to resume, hoping the heat drops to around 90 degrees or cooler.
The National Weather Service is predicting temperatures in the mid- to low-90s through Sunday and not dipping into the 80s until Monday.
“I'd like to get the second strip up so I can get the perspective line for the side,” Pugh said. “A lot has already gone into the wall preparation, and there's a lot of perspective layout up there, too.”
The mural will be on the back wall of the historic movie theater and on the side wall facing Neal Street, adding to the three-dimensional look of Pugh's painting style.
Prominent in the design is the Yuba River and a skip full of miners being lowered into one of the area's historic, hard-rock gold mines.
Pugh will place the remaining strips on the back wall section, which is 35 feet high by 30 feet wide. He will paint the side wall — 35 feet high and 25 feet wide — on site.
“It's not easy to put something flat on a wall that has wobbles in it,” Pugh said.
“There are challenges, but it will work.”
The artist has used his strip process to create murals all over the world.
The $70,000 needed to pay for the mural has been raised, according to Grass Valley Downtown Association Executive Director Howard Levine. Another $4,000 to $5,000 will be raised to help pay for the scaffolding rental and other added incidental costs.
“It's just too hot,” said mural artist John Pugh from his Truckee studio Tuesday. “The whole thing can be done in a couple of months, but a lot depends on the heat.”
Pugh and his crew have been sporadically preparing the two walls of the movie theater for the mural, which will depict the area's mining history and its change in attitude toward the environment. Over the past year, Pugh and his crew painted the mural on strips in his studio.
“I'm working on it here when I'm not there,” Pugh said, finishing the strips that remain to be installed and doing touch-up work.
In Grass Valley on Sunday, the artist and his crew had trouble putting up the first strip because the heat caused the acrylic gel, used to glue the strip to the wall, to dry too fast.
So Pugh will wait until at least Thursday or Friday to resume, hoping the heat drops to around 90 degrees or cooler.
The National Weather Service is predicting temperatures in the mid- to low-90s through Sunday and not dipping into the 80s until Monday.
“I'd like to get the second strip up so I can get the perspective line for the side,” Pugh said. “A lot has already gone into the wall preparation, and there's a lot of perspective layout up there, too.”
The mural will be on the back wall of the historic movie theater and on the side wall facing Neal Street, adding to the three-dimensional look of Pugh's painting style.
Prominent in the design is the Yuba River and a skip full of miners being lowered into one of the area's historic, hard-rock gold mines.
Pugh will place the remaining strips on the back wall section, which is 35 feet high by 30 feet wide. He will paint the side wall — 35 feet high and 25 feet wide — on site.
“It's not easy to put something flat on a wall that has wobbles in it,” Pugh said.
“There are challenges, but it will work.”
The artist has used his strip process to create murals all over the world.
The $70,000 needed to pay for the mural has been raised, according to Grass Valley Downtown Association Executive Director Howard Levine. Another $4,000 to $5,000 will be raised to help pay for the scaffolding rental and other added incidental costs.
