I’ve painted on a lot of surfaces over the years, but I was in for a new experience when I received a call from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.

It turned out they had a new Diving Tank to be installed to be used for training underwater welding. They wanted a mural to show the underwater welding process so that it could be viewed through portholes when training was not in session.

Of course I said, “Sure, I can do that” – then I started investigating what would be needed. The tank is fiberglass, and would be filled with fresh water, but the paint would have to withstand the cleaning, the pool chemicals and of course, the gases used in the welding process. This wouldn’t be my usual paint!

I located a supplier of pool paint (Mural Mate) and was able to order a suitable product. When I arrived in Las Vegas, the mural area of the tank was ready to go with a fresh base coat of blue.

I copied my design on to the wall using a pounce pattern that I made in the studio and started painting. This new paint was unlike any that I had worked with before – VERY different texture. VERY different drying times. I soon learned that I had to create a new painting technique.

After almost 3 weeks, the mural is done! Here’s a composite panorama image showing the whole mural. It’s a little distorted due to the shooting angles and close distance (plus the tank is curved!).

View some more images showing the entire process.