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Show i Artist seeks color's power s ;- - tr f ':- , ' By KIM FOLTZ Chronicle Staff ,, ,s a big whale-it's a collection memories from my childhood-1 childhood-1 magic-actually, it's a portrait f Utah Power and Lieht. Basi-rallv Basi-rallv just the power," ;aid Robert S Rumel, artist in residence at the Union Art Gallery. Mr Rumel was commissioned by the Utah Power and Light Co. to oaint a mural for the auditorium of their new building at 40 East First So. Mr Rumel, a graduate of the University in art, has been painting paint-ing the seven by 28 foot mural for the past two weeks in the Union Art Gallery. "There are two reasons for my setting up shop in the Union gallery," he said. "One was so students could observe an art work in progress, hopefully learning learn-ing from the experience. The other was I ran out of room at my father's shop." "My assistants, Michael Dutson, Dennis Fullerton and I began work on the mural last May. After the planning was completed and the actual production began the "I got the idea from Dr. Leisher's book 'Color Tests,' which breaks colors into psychological categories. cate-gories. The main colors in the mural are orange for power, blue for depth of feeling and yellow for wisdom," said Mr. Rumel. "The colors have a direct relationship relation-ship to the kind of person I want to become: blue, for the depth of feeling I need to be an artist; orange, for the force needed to sell myself, and yellow to add temperance and wisdom," he said. "This is the first mural I've done and the experience has taught me a lot," he said. "When we decided on size, we neglected to take into consideration the electrical outlets the janitors use. Now I have to cut several holes in the canvas. I've been thinking of putting big red sockets over the holes. I can just see some janitor plugging his vacuum into my mural for power." Like so many artists, Mr. Rumel had to wait for a break. His came while he was working at Photo Blue. "I sold a tracing pad to this lady and she began talking with me about murals. She was Sharon Olpin, a designer consultant." "Later she went to see the art exhibits I had arranged at the Tower and Movie Theaters. Mrs. Olpin is the one who gave me the confidence and push to submit my bid for the Utah Power and Light mural-she's my magic lady," he said. Mr. Rumel used spray paint and an air brush and lots of masking tape to create "Power and Light" (tentative title for this mural). "I used the air brush (small spray gun) the most because it does finer work. The only problems are it takes a longer time and it keeps clogging up," he said. Mr. Rumel is already working on another mural and will be painting portraits in the Union Art Gallery for the next two weeks. Artist in residence, Robert Rumel, finishes air brushing his mural, mural outgrew my father's shop, so I arranged with Bruce Hancey to use the Union Art Gallery," Mr. Rumel said. Although the mural looks like the skeleton of a large whale, floating in a blue ocean, it is instead "the culmination of everything I want to be," he said. |