Michelle Tynan believes a certain amount of risk is necessary to her art’and her life.
So, although The Clarkston News mural is by far the largest project she’s yet tackled’the wall measures 3000 square feet’Tynan knows she’s on the right track.
Tynan, an Independence Township resident, had her eye on the building for several weeks last summer before approaching owner Jim Sherman Sr. about the project.
Sherman, former publisher of The Clarkston News, was receptive to the ideas Tynan proposed.
‘It was a wall waiting to be painted,? Tynan said, ‘I was looking for an opportunity like this.?
Designed to incorporate architectural features on the building fa’ade, the mural was planned to give the building a finished look.
The features of the fa’ade, painted 60 linear feet into the picture plane of the mural, suggest the possibility of walking right into the picture.
The wall, which is located at the northwest corner of Main Street and Washington in downtown Clarkston, is 28 feet tall.
‘When you’re doing a wall this large’and I have never done a wall this size before, so I’m developing these problems as I go,? Tynan said. ‘Much of the work has to be planned on the wall, not on paper. So as things develop in the picture, lines and shapes and sizes have to be arranged according to whatever changes.?
Tynan, who has a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University, considered scale and architectural features of neighboring buildings and selected colors that would blend into downtown Clarkston’s historical mood.
Tynan’s father, a career army officer, served three tours in Germany, an experience, she said, that significantly influenced her work.
With a minor in art history, Tynan studied cathedral architecture and worked for a professor who designed opera sets.
Much of her work, she said, reflects the European focus of her art’and her own guiding principles.
‘When I’m working I’m rely more on intuition than on linear thinking,? she said. ‘Everything I do in art is an intuitive process, and I really trust my intuition.?
Although the mural project is gaining momentum after rainy weather gave it a slow start last fall, Tynan said the endeavor has proved a challenge nearly every day.
‘I have to adjust what I’m doing on a regular basis,? she said. ‘When I compute something and it seems to work out, but then affects something else when it gets painted. It’s like a domino effect, and that’s overwhelming.?
Other challenges exist, as well.
Last winter, for example, when she had to put down her paintbrushes and wait for spring, some Clarkston residents became angry and made anonymous, nasty phone calls to Tynan’s home.
The parking lot situation is also a problem.
‘Everybody says ‘I’m just going to be here for five minutes,?? she said. ‘But when you calculate that 15 times a day, it’s very frustrating.?
But, she said, the whole project has been a learning experience, one she characteristically compares to everyday living.
‘It’s a great metaphor for life. Building a picture, constructing a composition like this is like constructing your life, and then working out the bugs as you go through that journey.?
It’s a philosophy she’d like to pass down to young people struggling with direction in life.
‘When you’re doing a dead end job that you hate because you’re afraid of the alternative, take the risk, get rid of the fear if you can,? she said. ‘Look at the alternative, whatever it is an allow that to happen in your life.?
It’s a lesson she learned from years of working in jobs where she didn’t ‘fit the mold,? before finally deciding to pursue her passion for mural painting, work she believes benefits and beautifies the surrounding community.
‘What I do is a risky business,? she said. ‘I don’t know if I’ll have new work but I allow that risk to be a part of my life and I’m not afraid of it.? As long as I’m moving forward and not afraid of the alternatives I believe other opportunities will happen.?