On June 13th, 2008, Dick Mueller unveiled what may be the largest colored pencil drawing in the world. Entitled “If Boulders Could Talk,” the 4-ft. x 8-ft. colored pencil drawing of a hanging man in the desert was commissioned by a Cave Creek resident who wishes to remain anonymous, but did agree to share some quotes regarding why he commissioned the piece.

“The composition for this piece came to me in a dream 30 years ago,” the client said. He was living in Ohio at the time and had never been to the desert. “It was not as if I had a death or tragedy in my life,” he said. “I knew I wanted the piece created, but in my search to find an artist, I found that those artists I approached did not want to touch the topic, could not work on such a grand scale, or the medium would not be suitable.”

In 1996, the client obtained a real photograph of a man’s skeleton that had been found hanging from a tree in the Sonoran Desert. It was believed that the man, most likely in his early 30s, had been there for six months. “The circumstances are unknown, but the belief is that he was hanged, rather than committed suicide” the client said. The client’s search for an artist continued, and then during the 2006 Sonoran Arts League “Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour,” he visited Dick Mueller’s host studio. It was going to be his last inquiry to an artist about the project.

Mueller recalled the initial meeting well. “He asked me, ‘is there any subject matter you won’t do?’ I figured the Old Masters painted torture scenes, and this was a real man who had died in the desert. And, while I had never worked on such a grand scale, I accepted the challenge,” Mueller said.

The client had already explained that the composition for the piece came to him in a dream, but he offered several interpretations of the subject matter. He also emphasized that he would like people to view the piece and come to their own conclusions. “The piece depicts the harshness and beauty of the desert,” he said. “The original photograph showed the man was hanging from a Palo Verde tree, but Dick took the creative liberty to change it to a Mesquite tree. I took over 100 photos of boulders, trees, and flowers so that Dick could use them for reference as he created the blooming desert in the background.”

Another interpretation could relate to how insignificant people are compared to nature. “People take life for granted, and what people take even more for granted is nature,” the client said. “Everyone wants to live in the desert, but then they want to bring their big box stores and other modern comforts with them. These conveniences destroy the very natural environment that those people want in the first place,” the client said. “Though people consider human life sacred, they overlook or take for granted all other forms of life, animal and plant. We control our environment rather than living within it. This art piece shows that life in the desert goes on in spite of what happened to a single human dweller."

The client is very pleased with the final result. “Dick’s work is breathtaking. The level of his talent is phenomenal. He works with what seems to be a simplistic medium, yet his artistic interpretation and attention to detail is anything but simple,” the client said. “I can never express to him the gratitude I have for everything he has done...from taking on the commission to dealing with all of the challenges along the way.”