The exiting thing about painting a mural is that it can be anything
you want. You can choose a cute whimsical theme for a child’s
room such as a collage of you child’s favorite sports, animated
characters, or rainbows and unicorns. You may want to have a soft, restful
mural of one of your favorite vacation areas, which could be an ocean
scene, the beautiful red rocks of Roxborough Park or a peaceful meadow
with deer. The possibilities are endless. You can look through books,
magazines or personal photographs to help you select your subject matter.
The public library is a great reference source.
Once
your major subject is selected, lets say a Roxborough mountain scene,
you will need to narrow in on the details you wish to include in the
mural. You may love waterfalls and lakes, so let’s include that
somehow. Perhaps different types of rocks and their formations always
captivate your soul. Don’t forget the big, gorgeous skies with
beautiful cumulus cloud formations. Ponderosa pines with various indigenous
wildflowers and plants add a good color balance. Animals such as elk,
eagles, deer, foxes, raccoons give you a center of reference. Once you
have decided which elements you want, it’s time to combine them
into a sketch.
Thumbnail sketches are quick drawings that allow you to start to establish
your composition, including color values and perspective. Once you are
pleased with your sketch, you can move on to a color mock-up of the
thumbnail design.
The color mock-up is where you really finalize your composition, your
color palette, your color values, temperature and brilliance of your
painting. It never hurts to have as much figured out as possible before
beginning to paint your mural.
Whether you want to attempt to paint your own mural, or commission someone
to do it for you, murals are an exiting and inspirational form of decorating.
Joseph
Smedra –
