Vizcaino - Serra Oak
The Tree Where Monterey Began
In the artists words
From artist, Stephanie Rozzo, about the process behind creating the mural:
"It was important to me as a Science Illustrator to try to recreate the scene as accurately as possible for the time period. I consulted experts to make sure the oak tree, other plants and ships were correct. The goal was to recreate a magnificent oak and make sure it was the star. Everything else needed to play a supporting role. While many images were used as reference, the landscape is mostly based on Jules Travernier’s drawing from 1876 and photos of the historic tree from the 1880s after it was stuck by lightning."
"Each element of the painting includes many small individual brush strokes to give it a realistic feel. The original main panel painting is 74” X 30” acrylic on stretched canvas. I scanned the original image at a high resolution with an 11¾ “X 8¾ “ flat scanner and merged it together will Adobe Photoshop. This preserved the brush strokes and details when it was reprinted at double the original size. The side panels have a watercolor background with pen & ink details that were put together using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator."