By Cynthia Smith
This Slide Show depicts the process for creating the Southwest Desert Mural.
3 Main Steps: Client consultation, Studio creation of concepts, and Mural painting. I photo documented the entire process.
Client Consultation: I met with the client and her interior decorator in her home and discussed subject, color schemes, and the mural’s setting. I took detailed measurements of the mural space while also drawing a quick sketch of the space. I took digital reference photos.
Studio Creation: The client and I agreed I would create 3 scaled mock-ups from which she could select her favorite composition. I took a sample of the wall paint home with me. In my studio, I recreated two, one foot square sheetrock boards. I applied textured dry wall plaster and the customer’s wall paint to create an exact replica of the wall support. I could then experiment with sketching and painting effects in my studio. This enabled me to decide on the best paint media to use and to also understand what visual effects I could create in my painting style. Once the client selected the image, I set to work on the mural itself.
Mural Painting: My client preset the work area with protective coverings. She supplied ladders for me to use. I set up my work area with a portable palette table and a drop cloth taped along the base board floor molding. I brought my paint, brushes, digital and physical reference images. It helped to have a utility sink as a clean up station.
Initially, I thought I might use projection equipment to cast a digital image of my study sketch onto the wall. I found it was much simpler and actually less time consuming to simply recreate the enlarged scaled grid onto the wall surface and redraw the mural image to its finished size. This enabled me to also make some adjustments as I worked within the setting.
I sketched the wall grid and the underdrawing with erasable colored pencils to allow for color scheme notes and clean erasures. I chose to paint the 3 yuccas first, from small to large. Then, the foreground. It was helpful to paint the horizon line midway through the painting to establish depth. Lastly, I painted the background desert floor and sky.
ARTSMITHS 