Ta-da! The panels are installed and ready to become a mural.
I’m so grateful that I can paint this mural in my studio. There are three aluminum 4’x8’ panels that will be installed on a wall about four feet off of the ground by the new museum in Cozad. We built a scaffold in my studio in Hendley where I will paint the complete mural and disassemble it to transport it to Cozad. My partner made quick work of building the scaffold, thank goodness.
Designing a mural is a very different process than approaching a canvas, even a large one. Many of the artistic elements are the same, such as form, movement, composition, line, and the unification of the whole. But as the design is created, the artist has to take the perspective of the viewer into consideration. Often a mural is seen from a distance. It exists in the context of it’s environment. It will have a large presence and should feel dimensional. The colors should be more saturated in order to stand out.
line drawing of design
Here is a line drawing of the basic design. This is where I carefully considered the whole composition, taking into consideration the forms, movement, and lines.
the maquette
I then created a ‘maquette’, which is a small painting using the same colors that I will use on the mural. I was happy with the colors on the maquette, but will have to do a little bit of adjusting with the saturation. I put some tables and chairs in different locations in my studio so I can sit and look at the mural from different angles as I work. It’s really important to continually step back and look at it from a distance.