NY Post came out for pics today and we started the third side.

The NY Post came out today and we started the third side of the building.

Well another interesting day in Brooklyn. This morning we had two grand visits. One from the NY Post which took pics which should be in Monday's paper and the second from the owner of the building himself: Barry J. He still is very happy and always full of ideas for the future. Gotta love it. So after all the excitement and the scafold was put up on the third side of the building we got painting and based it out in record time. Tomorrow we add the stones and then it is home for a couple of days as it is susposed to rain......again(and we could use a little break). 45 days here so far and so close to completion, kinda a weird feeling for sure.

All done with second side or it's getting cold.

All done with second side or it's getting cold.

Banged out all the rest of the little "20 miute" murals today and got the second big side done leaving us with two small sides left. Probably 8 or 9 working days to go. I have to say though it is getting pretty cold out now. Today was definately outside my comfort level and add in the wind and it was not so much fun. Anyhow scafold should get moved tomorrow and we start to rock and roll again. We are getting faster by the day.

Free advertising for Starbucks. Gotta luv it......

Free advertising for Starbucks...gotta luv it!

Well I have to say there is one thing that brightens my spirits every day and that is a Caramel Machiato from Starbucks iced with and extra shot of expresso. We go in every morning as it is at the corner and it is at the point where we walk in and it is waiting for us. How is that for customer service! Anyways we had a great day today as we are probably a day away from getting this side done and then we are left with the sides. We started by cutting all the window sides together and then went after the murals in between them. There are a lot of them so I will onlyt post a few for now. Then (yes again) the rain came and we were grounded.

Sue and Kathy stop by from the www.fauxforum.com to say "hi". The faux forum is a site that artists from all over the world get together and learn from each other. Pretty amazing.

Hoola Hoop master and Arl comes to town

Hoola Hoop Master

Well it is raining today so no work for us. Interestingly enough we went outside and there was a guy hoola hooping in the rain. It was a very sureal moment for some reason. I almost challenged him in a hoola hoop-off but I don't know how to hoola hoop(DARN)!

And then a special treat as Arlene comes to town to visit. Arlene is an very talented artist and close friend from Long Island. It stopped raining so we were able to go to the roof. Had a great lunch with her and I am so happy she swung by.

Up to the top

Up to the top

Well today was a great day! We got plenty of sleep last night and woke up on fire to work. We also had a deadline today as Alli was coming into town around 4 ish. No worries though as we got more than we expected done today. Now it is to the showers and then dinner!!!!

Cruising thru building 2

Cruising thru building 2

Well we are moving along on building 2. Very happy with the progress and on top of that it didn't rain today and it was susposed to. NICE! We went out last night with 2 friends of mine from NY who I went to Highschool with. One of them owns a bar and it was pretty sweet. Great to see those guys. Anyways we also found out we got another building to do after this one. It is in Manhatten on Park ave so we are doing some final samples for that tonight.

Chris Fondulas stops by.

Chris Fondulas stops by.

My highschool friend is making a documentary on our mural and he swung by to film some more of the project. He does all the sound for NBC 30 Rock and is very talented. I have seen the footage he has shot thus far and can't wait to see the final product.

Putting up the planks and starting bldg 2

Putting up the planks and starting bldg 2

Well this morning was semi interesting. We got in and the contracted scafold guys had us help them put up the swing stage. I probably would have rather not known how it was done and just assumed the safety levels were at max. After that we proceded to basecoat the second building and got all 12 stories done today. Great start except for the fact that it is going to start raining tomorrow and the next day! RATS! :)

If you give a mouse a pringle......

If you give a mouse a pringle...........

Day off as scafolding is being moved to the other building. Here is a clip from an apartment we were in.

12 Stories DONE! (next 12 story building to go)

12 stories DONE! (next 12 story building to go)

Well it was a quiet Sunday morning as the building was empty. We got in early and cranked it out. So we officially have finished our first 12 story building. Now we only have one 12 story to go! :) It was beautiful out and we spent the last hour of the day painting off the roof top. It was nice due to the weather but a little hard on the body. We will definately have a mild celebration tonight and get back at it tomorrow.

Almost there.......

Almost there..............

Almost there but then they needed to shut the power down to fix past electrical problems. So we had to cruise down as to not get stuck up in the air. I can't wait to get done with this scafold. Freaky stuff, the small platform. I miss the big plank and can't wait to get it back for building 2.

A little help from our friends.

A Little help from your friends.

Our friends Pierre and Tiff stopped by tonight to say hi. If you don't know Pierre he is a monster in the decorative painting industry and he was able to help out with another building project we have by bringing and incredible book on Tromp and pedestals. In the video you will see more and to see other books he has go to: http://www.pfinkelstein.com

The finishing touches on Bldg 1

The finishing touches on bldg 1

Today was a relaxed day. Fear of rain this morning grounded us mid morning. We had to run into Manhatten anyways so did so. Once back we had a nice helping of Ramen and Tuna and so the most beautiful thing in the world......blue sky! So we geared up and went back to the building. We add the lettering to the mural which is the real estate company's name: Joseph P. Day Realty with the call line and logo. TOmorrow will be the last day on 1 and then we move to building 2! Keep it comin!!! :)

We made the Daily News

We made the Daily News

Well I don't know what it means as of yet but I think it is a good thing. We got some press from the great Daily News and are pretty excited about it. They did a nice article we saw this morning which will give us plenty of reason to celebrate. We are also finsihing up our first 12 story building and getting ready to start the second one.

Here is a link to the story:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/09/15/2009-09-15_dingy_airshaft_is_brooklyn_artists_easel__easier_on_the_eye_for_his_fellow_tenan.html

New Day, new staging.

New day, New staging!

Well we are back from our weekend off. It was great to go home and see the family. My middle guy started soccer so I was able to go to his practice which was really great to see. We got back Sunday night and will probably stay for the duration at this point. As you see in the video our new staging is smaller to get in the inlet of the building. Definately a different experience then the last. Whoever said bigger isn't better should come and talk to me. LOL No it was fine(kinda) and we based out the existing building. We are hoping to get it completed by tomorrow or the next day and then we start Building 2! Can't wait! :)

Daily News comes out to see us.

Daily News comes out to see us today.

Pretty exciting day today. The owner of the building Barry Jacobson from J P Day Realty Corp came back from vaca and saw the building for the first time. He really seemed to like it which made me happy! Then later on in the day the Daily News photographer came out and took pics which will run with a story on Tuesday we think. So all very positive and exciting stuff. We are taking a couple of days off while the scafolding is moved so here are a couple videos for the time being.

Finsihed Statue of Liberty.

Finished the Statue of Liberty Base.

Well today was a great day, we finished the base which completes this phase of the job. We are gonna take a couple of well deserved days off and then come at it again. Next week we will start the second building(still can't believe there is still a second building) lol! I hope you enjoy the pics.

Here is local Duane from the Bruno hardware store. He helps us everyday get our paint that we need. He is a cool cat!

5 hour Statue of Liberty and now for the base!

5 hours and the Staute is painted, now for the base!

Great day today. We got the Statue painted and that is exactly what we wanted to accomplish. Tomorrow we go for the base and then the rest of the panels. After that we take a 3 day and take a break before we start the second building(and we need one).

A hand from your friends when you need one or sketching the Stratue of Liberty

A hand from your friends when you need one or sketching the Statue of Liberty

Today we got in and had to sketch the Statue of Liberty. We had to take these huge sheets of paper and score them to spray thru them thus transfering the image. We realized it was a bigger job then we thought so we called locals Juan(grande) and Emily from The Heights Cafe. They pitched in and we got it all done including the base for the 1st floor on the other building. There were no real fly bys from the birds today as I think they flew away for the long weekend.

Look Ma, we made it to the top.

Look Ma, we made it to the top.

Well today was one of the more interesting days. We got the top two floors done and we finished the two sets of windows as well. Interestingly enough after lunch I forgot to bring my bag up with my camera in it and let me just say I blew it! While up there our 2 bird friends decided to get bold and started dive bombing us (kid you not). I think from the look of one of them (paint on his head) it was something we did. Anyways this went on for quite a while until they just started landing on our plank and taunting us. I think it is going to go down between Ryan and I vs the birds. I felt like we were in that movie Grumpy old men where the neighbors were all doing strange things to each other to get the other one to move out. Anyways we got what we needed to do done and tomorrow we start the statue of Liberty!

Special Happy Birthday

A special Happy Birthday to my son Carter today.

This is a shout out to Carter, my son. I made this video for him to watch because unfortunately I could not make it home this weekend. He is turning 6 and is a great kid!!!!!

Painting the windows

Painting the windows and a little Brooklyn Bridge for ya.

Not a bad day. We had to add 4 windows where there were not so that the building would be uniform. So with that done we added some more of the scenes. Below you will see the Brooklyn Bridge that we did and then with me next to it so you can see the relationship to size. Tomorrow we will clean up some stuff and then on Sunday we will start the Statue of Liberty. I am gonna go out on a limb here and call it at 3 days to complete the Statue of Liberty (man I hope I am right). We shall see, we shall see.

Scenes from Brooklyn

Starting the Brooklyn scenes today.

We are staying about two blocks from where we are working so we came home for lunch today. Leftovers from last night, mmmmmmmmmm. Anyways I figured I would throw a quick video up before we go back. Here is one of the scenes that will be painted under each set of windows going the entire way up. All scenes from different areas in NY specifically Brooklyn. Hope you enjoy.

2 floors to go and we ran out of paint.

Great day today. Cranked a lot out. We ran out of paint as we got ready to paint the top 2 floors. Oh well. Tomorrow we shall finsh those up and then the Statue of Liberty. Very excited. Also tonight we will be changing things up a bit and enjoying a nice plate of veal and spagets. Hope it won't be too much of a shock to our system! :)