CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - When is a door not a door?

When it’s a flora and fauna-festooned frieze, brightening a Carmichael neighborhood.

Janet Jimenez went on a Midtown Sacramento mural walk in June. Captivated by walls transformed, the former Aerojet employee told daughter Kim Hanagan: “I know what you can get me for my 82^nd birthday – a mural.”

Replied Kim: “That would be a lifetime of birthday presents, mom.” In the end, she and mom agreed to share the expense of beautifying their street-facing garage.

Many weeks and a birthday later, artist Jesse Melanson (35) arrived from Truckee. The professional muralist had previously daubed city walls from Boston to Austin and San Francisco. Kim and Janet first saw his nature-inspired work on a Fair Oaks Pizza restaurant wall and asked the artist to design for their project.

Octogenarian Janet has fond memories of Hawaiian vacations. She also loves birds and flowers. She and State worker Kim settled on hummingbirds and tropical blooms. Their double garage was a small project compared to some of Melanson’s massive commissions. But its ridged surface was a two-day challenge.  “I’m used to bricks, concrete and some really gnarly walls,” he noted. “But I’ll paint on anything. I feel privileged when people ask me to share my art.”

Mom left town during the mural’s creation and returned to a fait accompli. “I got home at midnight, so I didn’t see it till the morning,” she says. “Our garage door turned out even more beautiful than I’d imagined - it’s still fun to come home to. Our neighbors have made nice comments.

“The man across the street has a better view than we have. He says he feels like he’s in Hawaii.”

See more of Jesse Melanson’s art at www.jmelart.com