The big picture.

Don Jacobs' journey as a muralist has taken him from creating beach scenes on the back of a garage to the prestige of painting a 540-square-foot landscape at the Mississippi Governor's Mansion.

So the 56-year-old has had to quit thinking of himself as a starving artist--in more ways than one. Jacobs confesses he padded more than his resume during the four months he spent transforming a conference room in the mansion annex into a stunning display of the state's geographic regions.

"Thanks to mansion chef Luis Bruno, I ate like a king and gained eight pounds," said Jacobs, a self-confessed "TV-dinner-eating bachelor." But the greater gain has been a renewed confidence in his ability to make a living doing what he loves.

"There was a realization at the time that I might just be experiencing the zenith of my career, but I hope it's a stepping stone to still better things to come. Either way, it's nice to be able to say that I did the Governor's Mansion."

The 9 x 60-foot panoramic view of Mississippi was First Lady Marsha Barbour's idea, but she says she never could have imagined Jacobs' "breathtaking work of art."

"The once cold, businesslike atmosphere of this room has been transformed into a place of warmth and beauty," she said. "Guests for everything from an informal meal to a seminar are enveloped in a work of art that truly captures the heart and soul of Mississippi. Haley and I take great pride in what we consider to be a treasured addition to the Governor's Mansion."

Jacobs' mother and father are immensely proud as well, and he says it's a good feeling to see them enjoying his success. He imagines his parents spent a lot of years wondering what would become of the family's "official artist."

Rather than following his dad into the field of journalism (Charles R. Jacobs was owner of the Brookhaven Daily Leader), Jacobs migrated to art and music. In high school, he reveled in his role as lead singer for a local band called the BRUTES. And to this day, he spends much of his spare time writing and recording songs.

"About two years ago, I got some musical software that gives my computer the capabilities of a digital, multi-track recording studio," he said. Jacobs also performs live each year at Brookstock, an annual battle-of-the-bands fest he began organizing after reuniting the BRUTES for the 30th reunion of Brookhaven High School's class of 1968.

Like many who came of age during the Beatles era, Jacobs had illusions of rock stardom. So he was not happy when his parents insisted he spend his 16th summer on a European bike tour rather than jamming with his band. But the time abroad proved to be a turning point. "Suddenly, I was aware that there was a big, interesting world out there beyond Mississippi," he said.

After his freshman year in college, Jacobs got a summer job in Germany that stretched into a nine-month stay. Two years later, he returned for a European backpacking expedition and eventually moved to Frankfurt to major in graphic design at Kunstschule Westend for Grafik und Design.

He headed home in 1980 to work for his father's newspaper. Next, he combined his love for art and music and took an advertising department position at renowned musical equipment manufacturer Peavey Electronics in Meridian, followed by a similar job at Hooper Sound.

In 1986, a position as art director at WJTV Channel 12 brought him to Jackson, where he did everything from designing logos and doing voice-overs to shooting commercials and designing sets. Nine years later, Jacobs took up faux finishing--despite the fact that he had always avoided painting as an art form.

"When I was in art school, I did a lot of pen and ink work and prided myself on my ability to get realistic, minute detail," he said. "For years, I never picked up a paintbrush because I didn't think I could get that kind of detail."

Jacobs said a Christmas gift of acrylic paints at age 33 prompted him to begin experimenting, and he realized he might have a knack for realism on a large scale. "Despite an art degree, I'm self-taught as a painter," he said. "The Barbours loved the fact that after I finished their mural, I announced plans to take a class in oil painting."

When he first began marketing his mural talents, Jacobs was asked to paint in venues ranging from a child's nursery to the Vicksburg Room at the Jackson Country Club. But his big break came when interior designer Dottie Horn Gozan spotted his work in a decidedly humble setting--the powder room of a St. Andrew's Designer Show House.

"Dottie was involved with the renovation of the Governor's Mansion and was interested in using a mural with monochromatic tones, like I had done for that show house," Jacobs said. "The idea was to have a mural in the conference room that represented the state of Mississippi, without getting into the obvious cliches like riverboats and antebellum mansions. We divided up the sections of the room to represent, in landscapes, the various geographical regions of the state."

A "nut for realism," Jacobs said he referred to panoramic photos provided by the Mississippi Film Commission to come up with authentic depictions of the Delta, the hill country, the Piney Woods, the coastal region and the river region. "I'm still fascinated by the ability to move paint around and make it look like something real."

The venue for the mural necessitated that Jacobs provide preliminary sketches, and he gladly obliged. But he ordinarily employs a more free-flowing approach to mural design.

"It's a cause-and-effect process, a constant back and forth," he said. "Sometimes things will need to be exaggerated up close in order to look right from a distance. A lot of times clients will joke with me that I'm doing that 'artist thing,' peering at my paintings for long periods apparently lost in thought, but actually I'm just checking out how it works together and how I might make it better."

Jacobs said on the day he actually began painting in the Governor's Mansion, he thought, what have I gotten myself into? "I was looking at this huge canvas, and somehow I was supposed to fill it up."

But day by day, it gradually came together, and by the last day, Jacobs said he hated to see it all end. "Aside from the fact that doing a mural in the Governor's Mansion is a boost to my credibility as an artist, it was also one of the most enjoyable projects of my career. Everyone on the staff, from mansion administrator Cora Gee to Governor and Mrs. Barbout, was a joy to work with.

"It was a labor of love, and my worst nightmare is that some new administration might come in and decide to decorate with a new coat of paint."

But if that does come to pass, Jacobs has another venue in mind that might be even better for his career: "If Haley Barbour would run for president, I'd love to do the White House."

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG CAMPBELL