Freedom Playground

Above: Photo taken by Andrew Simcox

About four months ago I was asked to volunteer to do some murals for a playground designed for all children, especially disabled children. The playground and murals were constructed completely from volunteers both skilled and unskilled. With great pleasure, the murals are now complete.
(As always, click on the photos for enlarged views)
A mural of the Philadelphia Art Museum with the Sculpture of Rocky Balboa painted on the rock climbing wall.

Mural honoring Penn's landing and Independence Hall

Mural of Boat House Row

We were very fortunate to have a tent to work under while we painted the smaller murals which were then placed along the fence.

The mural of the Art Museum, on the other hand, was painted without safe cover. I am so amazed and grateful for everyone who came out and volunteered to paint in the 90+ degree heat and sun and humidity.

Credits for everyone who helped me paint the mural. Not everyone is represented in these photos.
Valerie Deaton, Rob Margiotta, Christian Patchell, Gina Stewart, Matthew Stewart, Karen Donaldson, Tom Broido, Beth Pergolini, Holly Firesheets, Crystal Hoez, Stephanie Yearick, Meagan Wenlock, Monica Cookes, Kelly Clark, Kevin Zazycki, Lauren Braun, Jewel Kurland, Ann Kriebel, Sandra Benhaim, Alexandra Capone, Deena Ball, Janice Lohuis

(If you helped paint the mural but have not been give credit, forgive me if your name is not represented)

This is the color study I did for the Penn's Landing/Independence Hall mural. First sketched in Pencil on Tracing paper, scanned, then colored in Photoshop CS4. The squares above and below are all of the colors needed to paint the mural. I used codes to indicate matching colors for different sections of the mural.

The photo above is the color swatch page used to mix and match the donated paint for the mural of the Penn's Landing/Independence Hall Mural. I spent most of the first two days mixing the colors from the dozens of random used exterior paints. 95% of the used paint was unusable. But, I managed to mix most of the colors necessary for the mural. Still, some colors I wanted I did not want to compromise quality in vibrancy and tone and was grateful for the friends and colleagues who donated to the Freedom Playground Custom Paint fundraiser I coordinated.

To: Jennifer Davis, Roger and Judy Scull, Lisa Deaton and Leslie Gearhart, Ed Zawora, and Andrew Simcox, thank you for your generous donations.