With more than 800 hours of preparation and renovation under its belt, a new mural was unveiled at the San Gabriel Mission last month which restores an historic 1939 fresco on the mission's winery wall.

"We owe so much to artist Hendrik Keyzer," says Chuck Lyons, mission spokesman. "He did so much of the work himself and believes that his volunteering efforts might encourage others to contribute and volunteer."

A professor emeritus of chemistry with a keen knack for art, Keyzer painstakingly investigated, researched and prepared the mural, "Christ Teaching." About 25 percent of the almost invisible 10-foot-by-16-foot mural was obtainable. Keyzer relied on information about the rest from knowledgeable visitors who have seen the mural which was created by artist Buckley McGurrin.

For the restoration process Keyzer used one of his many invented painterly languages called "chromoridinal," a style that used the full color spectrum in strict order. The triptych features symbolic images including the Tree of Life, Noah's Ark and crosses, as well as animals from Eskimo, Australian, South American and African cultures.

Many other details make the mural specifically Californian: an image of the first locomotive in California, a verbal musical scale and flowers in the hands of Dominican teaching nuns. Butterflies and moths loosely connect the three panels.

Keyzer is now in the process of restoring some of the mission statuary, having completed images of St. Philomena, St. Joseph and the Child Jesus, the Madonna of Guadalupe, and a life-sized statue of the Apostle John the Beloved and Mary at the foot of a large crucifix.

Limited editions of an autographed book "Christ Teaching" about the mural are available at the mission gift shop. Price is $11.95. Located at 428 S. Mission Drive in San Gabriel, the mission is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days a week except major holidays. For more information, call (626) 457-3035.