Christmas 2025 is Coming part 2

 We had a bit of a snow storm this past weekend.  Not a huge amount, maybe 7 inches, but it quickly turned to ice and there was no getting out for a few days.   Weather has been warmer the past few days, so I finally got my car uncovered and was able to get it out of the driveway, so this is the first time since last week that I was able to get to the Studio.  

My goal for today was to print some more Christmas cards, which I was able to do.  Brought 4 pre-cut pieces of the bristol board with me, and got 3 usable prints for cards, which should be enough for the ones I plan to send.  Packed them for the trip home and eventually headed there.  Work on the latest Robert Johnson print can wait until next week.  

On my way home I had 3 stops to make, all involving buying things for other people- that Christmas season again.  First stop was in Belmar, and I decided to park at the Belmar Arts Council, which I know has lots of free spaces, mostly occupied by vans and buses belonging to outside companies.  Not my problem any more.  But the first thing I noticed upon pulling into their lot was that the side of the building where our mural was has been painted a bright yellow.

For years there had been a mural here, the first one done by the Belmar Arts Council back in 2007 to help decorate the town.  Unfortunately, most of them are now gone.  This one that I had devoted much time to is now a horrible yellow color.  Another one I worked on, next to the gas station on the corner of Main and 16th, was painted over by the new occupant of the building it was on.  The one on the back of Freedman's Bakery was destroyed when that building was torn down.  And the one on the side of the Acropolis Diner was replaced by the new owners who took over that building. A result is that there are few murals left in town.  I didn't check to see is the other mural was still on the other side of the Boatworks.  

I don't know the reasons why our undersea adventure was replaced by this bright yellow color.  It's possible that the paint had started to flake off (only latex after all) and this was necessary to preserve the building.  (I don't think that any of the original muralists are still active in the BAC)  I hope that's the case.  Because if this was done for aesthetic reasons, they really did a horrible thing.