Enjoy life now... it has an expiration date.



Friday, March 5, 2010

The Ups and Downs (think ladders) of Painting Murals....








It's been a busy (and happily tiring) two weeks!

I was commissioned to do a series of three murals in a newly remodeled home. Two of the murals were to be done right away, the third a little later. The first two murals are in children's rooms- a fairytale castle for a little girl's room (size: approx 6.5 ft. across and 6 ft. high), and a barnyard/farm scene in a little boy's room. Since the little girl is having a big birthday party tomorrow (Sat.) her mural was the first to be done. I finished it Monday and then started on the barnyard scene. The clients have since added several elements to the barnyard scene so it will be next week before it's completed. Which means I'll be pretty scarce again this coming week.

What have I learned from doing these murals? Well, first of all that I'm not as young as I used to be. Yikes! The first and second day of 6-8 hours of climbing up and down a ladder and constantly holding up my arms to draw and paint told me more about my age than I cared to know :-) But, it's also been wonderful from an art perspective. Being away from my home meant that I wasn't distracted by laundry, meal preparation and all those other time stealers that can wreck a work day. It was wonderful to simply draw, paint and think about nothing but the project before me!

My working method is simple: draw the scene on the wall (I use a pencil) and paint. I use acrylic paints which work well for murals... soap and water clean up and fast drying. I'm posting photos that show the castle mural progressing; the last photo shows the little girl's room with the completed mural. I've made a good start on the barnyard mural but will post that a little later- after almost two weeks of very little computer time I've got a lot of emails and blogging to try to catch up with!

Have a good weekend!

20 comments:

"JeanneG" said...

You did a wonderful job on the mural. It's beautiful and I can see that it is just a little girl's dream (what did she say and how old is she?). Can't wait to see the farm one.

Bia said...

Great job!
Be proud of it.
I know how challenging and tiring it is to paint murals.
Heartwarming too, thouhg.
It looks beautiful!
Sincere congratulations.

Candy said...

Teresa, I love it! Thank you for sharing your working method, too. I've never tried a mural, but we have some wall space that I don't think Jim would mind my experimenting on someday...

I'm looking forward to the photos of the start of the barnyard scene.

Laure Ferlita said...

A room fit for a future queen!!! Nice job, you!!

Claire M said...

Oh what a treat to pop in here and see what you've been up to. The mural is simply charming and it was a delight to go through the photos of the different steps. With your reflection about the experience combined with the photos I almost feel like I was standing in the doorway watching you. Pretty cool!! Can't wait to see the barnyard scene too.

P.S. I can totally relate to the thoughts 'I'm not as young as I used to be.....'

Jo Castillo said...

Sigh......... You did a great job! Beautiful! I bet Gracie loves it! You are amazing in taking on murals, good for you. Waiting for the farm.

Simone said...

It's a gorgeous mural. I bet the little girl was thrilled to bits!

Kathy A. Johnson said...

Beautiful job! And I hear you about climbing up and down the ladder...

Lynne said...

That looks really special. I bet the little girl feels special too.
I look forward to seeing the barnyard mural.

Ann said...

Wow. That is beautiful and charming. But I don't think I'd ever attempt anything like that. It makes me tired just to think about it :-)

Jan said...

This is perfect for a little Princess! I've missed "seeing" you around but now I know what you've been up to. Can't wait to see the farm scene too!

Gary Keimig said...

Great job Teresa. Some little girl is gonna' love that for a long time.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful Art....

Jill Berry said...

You are staying busy...
painting dreams on walls!!
Nice job...
fun... but yeah, tiring work.

Karen said...

How absolutely beautiful. What a lucky little girl to be able to sleep in a room with your work on her wall!

Victor Errington said...

Well painted Teresa. You have done a grand job there. I painted a whole lot of Murals on the walls of a private swimming pool. I found it to be an amazing experience, did you? All the best Teresa.
Vic.

jyothisethu said...

Teresa,
good mural...
waiting for more from you...

knittingdragonflies said...

Wow! It looks so good! I would be delighted, if I was a little girl, or even a big one. You are so creative.
Advil, it makes life bearable!
Giggles
Vicki

Timaree said...

Wonderful mural. My daughter has painted them on her children's walls. They make a magical atmosphere for anyone child or not. Thanks for showing the stages. It was worth the ups and downs on the ladder now wasn't it?

Lisa M Griffin said...

Lovely and magical mural... love the sparkle! Such a wonderful spot for a little princess to lay her head and dream all sorts of enchanting things.
Great process as well.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...