My Mural Experience

My Mural Experience

Taking on a Mural Project is a big responsibility therefore, I am going to share what I learned from my experience so that you can take it into consideration if you want to get your hands on a mural project.

What is a Mural?

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other permanent surfaces. A distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture. ( Source: Wikipedia)

These works of art have proven to boost revenue in businesses up to 50%, attract new businesses, and improve the likelihood of community investment.

My Experience:

So far I have gotten my hands on 2 murals this year and I am looking forward to many more to come! Here are some tips if you are looking to get into the mural world.

TIMING TO CONSIDER:

From brainstorming, concept sketching, on-site visits, client approval to painting the mural it can take around 4 weeks to work on a mural project. Always cover yourself with time, give an estimated time of 4 weeks or more to the client because you never know what can happen. However, my project took about 2 weeks total which is very unusual but the client was opening the restaurant very soon. I do not recommend this!

An on-site visit might be needed in order to check the wall condition. Make sure that the wall has been cleaned by the client. You will need to “Prime” the wall or to purchase a paint with primer in it, specially if the wall has not been recently painted.

PRICING:

In order to give pricing to the client you first need to calculate the square footage, and this can be done by multiplying the width by the height of the wall. Once you get the total then multiply this by the desired rate. The range for pricing for all muralist is within 30/per square footage to 50/per square footage.

There are additional things that you might have to consider adding to the pricing depending on the complexity of the project.

TRACING AND SCALING:

There are many ways to trace your artwork but for my project I chose to use a projector because I found that it was the easiest way. I researched other methods but those required more work and I did not find them reliable since my mural was big.

The projector I chose to use is by the brand called DRJ Professional which I purchased on Amazon. Its really affordable the cost was around 80 bucks. You will also need a laptop and a good quality tripod to mount the projector.

One thing to also keep in mind is that you will need to trace your artwork at night or if you decide to trace in the morning you should make sure you block all light by covering the windows.

In order to trace on a bigger scale, if the wall is very long in you will need to project the artwork in different sections.

OTHER TIPS:

Other things you might need to take are soapy water, several cloths, plastic covers, a variety of brushes, pencil, eraser (magic eraser)…

Purchase quality brushes and practice beforehand and get familiar with these. Using your raised hand can be tiresome so you might need to buy a hand-rest for when you’re painting ( I made my own).

Wear old clothes that way you won’t mind if it gets damaged or stained. Always wear comfortable clothes that are also stretchy since you will be bending and moving a lot.

Last, but not least, painting a mural is a lot of work and can be strenuous job so make sure you take breaks every 20 minutes.

If you or anyone you know might need a mural, feel free to reach out to me at: hello@theinkingrose.com

Image via Unsplash /Photographer Hanson Lu