Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1524788
2 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 It is hard to believe that it was forty-five years ago when I was painting my first scenic mural; a background behind an animal park whale tank. One whale would see my white paint bucket, swim to the edge of the tank and open its shopping cart- size mouth, expecting to be fed. I walked past them toward my rowboat, extension ladder and spray gun and proceeded to paint in the tanks backdrop, while the whales and the sea lions looked on. I was young and willing. I was painting for them. Wanting to advance my career, I was hired at a "Rock and Rock Scenery Company" as a nonunion painter under a Local 816 (Local 800 contract). I didn't understand the ways of the union, but the company would often find work for me in different departments, or as I realized, different contract jurisdictions, in order to avoid me joining Local 816, and having to pay me a higher rate. This went on for six months till one of the Local 816 painters explained what was happening. At the time, scenic A S c e n i c A r t i s t i n S a n F r a n c i s c o : E n d u r a n c e a n d E v o l u t i o n P A I N T I N G F O R T H E P E R F O R M E R B Y S T E P H E N M C N A L L Y, S C E N I C A R T I S T A B