Jersey Mural Journal
Mural Techniques, Materials and Tutorials
This is my Jersey Mural Journal Blog where I write about my work as a muralist, my mural and decorative painting techniques, my materials and my experiences.
A Forest Mural in a Children’s Playroom
Their parent’s thought: wouldn’t it be nice to bring the kid’s favorite place into their playroom?
We all got together to take a look at the room and talk about their ideas for a forest mural.
They envisioned the three children playing in the forest. Ben loves to go fishing so the mural will need to have a pond to fish in!
Mia and Olivia will be playing together as fairies.
Sample board created for the "Fairies in the Forest" mural.
Mia as a fairy playing in the forest.
through the trees. The painting of Mia as a fairy at left is taken from a photograph of her on a family vacation.
The inspiration for the forest is drawn from the book “Lost In The Woods”, a photographic journal by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick. I love the way the photographs in this book segue into painterly vignettes. I like to see that contrast in my murals, as well, between what is painterly and sharply realistic.
Black and white sketch for Fairies in the Forest Mural on a 20 foot wall.
We have drawn a layout of the entire mural, to scale, in black and white. The mural wall is 20 feet wide and will be painted to create an overall feeling of being in the depths of the forest. The fairies will be playing in the foreground under the trees. The tree on the right will be painted right over the door to a crawl space that is the children’s playhouse
The Fairies in the Forest Mural, complete
Finished portrait of Ben, fishing in the coy pond.
Finished portrait of Mia and Olivia as fairies.
Close up shots of finished mural, featuring portraits of Ben, Mia and Olivia playing around the coy pond. To see the mural painted in day to day progress and the photos we took of the children for their mural portraits, read on!
Another Magical Forest Springs Up!
The sample board we painted for a Magical Forest Mural
A little girl named Alexandra will have her room transformed into a Magical Forest on Thursday! The room is now painted a nice, neutral Benjamin Moore# 964. When Alexandra wakes up Friday morning she will see fanciful trees dripping with sugarplums, curly-cue wild flowers tickling up the wall and fairies hovering all about. We’ll share the completed room with you next weekend. Can’t wait!
It is always helpful to “plant the trees” and create a sketch to the scale of the room, as pictured below.
First we layout the trees in the room. With a piece of chalk and a rag handy to wipe off any errors, we draw the trees with our scale layout to guide us.
By lunch time, we have all of our bare trees and wildflowers painted in Bavarian Cream Benjamin Moore flat paint.
Next, we paint in all the leaves and sugarplums. Because we’ve mixed and labeled all of our paints in the studio we can really fly!
All the bare trees and foliage are painted in first.
Leaves and sugarplums have sprouted on our trees!
Chevron Wall In A Day
A chevron wall pattern painted in a day.
There’s nothing like being prepared.
We painted the chevron pattern on this wall in one day.
It looks simple but it can be a disaster if you don’t think it through.
it’s worth the time to first do a layout on paper to the scale of your wall.
sketch of wall drawn to scale
The Lenape Mural Project: evolution of a supergraphic
Lenape Mural Project in Frenchtown, New Jersey: Full Color Preliminary by Murals & Moldings
Paddle Creek Kayaks, Frenchtown
Me, painting the Secret Garden.
The Beginning: A Blank Wall
This concrete building at 26 Race Street in Frenchtown, has inspired me to paint a mural. A.k.a the Paddle Creek Kayak building, it stands at the gateway to my little town on the Nishisakawick Creek. Across the street is the landmark National Hotel. The wall is 16 feet high, with a 12 foot span to the left of the window.
This empty canvas has beckoned to me for several years. This year I am responding. It will be my second mural in Frenchtown. I painted the Secret Garden, a 10 foot high mural on Harrison Street, when I moved here in 1999. It marked a home coming for me, finding my heart in Frenchtown. (more…)
Before and After: bare walls and moldings brought to life
Coffered Ceiling: Ater Finishing Work by Murals & Moldings of New Jersey
It is always very satisfying to see the before and after shots of the work we’ve done. When we are finished with a project, it looks as if it was meant to be. Though we were present every step of the way, we forget how cold and bare it looked before we started. Below is the Dining Room after wall panels and ceiling coffers were installed. (more…)
Jumping Dolphins Mural: How to Paint a Mural, step by step
to-scale sketch for "Jumping Dolphins"
The first step in creating a mural is an idea. Marisol is a young girl who loves dolphins. Her room is painted blue above a chair rail and lavender on the bead board below. She also specified that she’d like to see a sunset. As this is not an under water mural, the dolphins must be jumping. We found several images of dolphins jumping in the air. We added splashes and stars to express delight and exuberance. Next step will be a full color sample board. (more…)
How To Draw Fairies: using models in your murals and paintings
The Tree Fairy in the South Window Mural from our Castle Series of printed murals.
I am very particular about the way my fairies are rendered. If the proportions of the arms and legs are off or if the hand looks vaguely like a claw, it detracts and doesn’t pass muster. There’s only one way to get it right and if I try to skip this step, it only wastes time and causes frustration. I must have a model. Fortunately, I have ready access to several lovely volunteers. (more…)
The Evolution of an Italian Garden: a mural for a hallway
Italian Garden mural, installed
I thought it would be fun to share the evolution of a mural from conception to completion. Our client asked us to create a view of an Italian Garden, specifically to include a fountain. We looked at images of fountains and gardens to create a composite sketch. Very excited about having a mural and a little apprehensive about getting it right, they called the next day with a change of plan. Instead of a garden, they wanted to see a panoramic view of the mountains and a body of water. No problem, we replied, you can have both the intimacy of a garden and a panoramic view. (more…)
Painting Realistic Clouds: a beautiful sky & clouds for a nursery
Palette for Sky and Cloud Colors
I viewed a video posted by Morgan Bricca that gave me some great tips for painting clouds. I pride myself in how realistic my clouds are, but Morgan has developed a formula that makes it really easy and she was generous enough to share it.
Royal Monogram: a nursery gets the royal treatment in a mural
We were asked to design a monogram in a nursery over the baby’s crib. First, we made an appointment to look at the room and decide how the monogram would look best. With a tape measure, we looked at the area the design would span. We wanted to make an impressive statement without looking gargantuan or, on the other hand, too diminutive and delicate.
Custom monogram, painted in Incan Gold metallic paint by Ronan. The blue is custom mixed to match the coverlet.