Mural Art - Why I Like to Paint BIG, Why Murals Are Positive Elements in the Communities

Painting a mural is the most gratifying experience that I have had.
Painting at least the size of real life almost makes the mural come to
life. As if I can step and walk into the painting, step or walk into
my mind. In a sense it is like I am stepping into myself.I have
painted quite a few large murals for clients. Every one has been super
rewarding. I learn more about painting in one mural then I learn in
painting a dozen small paintings. If I had to pick one size to paint
all the time it would be mural size.~Why I feel artists Mural
Mural
Art can define time. All of our ancestors participated in mural arts.
They used murals to describe history, events, timelines, possible
future events, maps to the heavens, sacred rituals etc. Mural art is
empowering, it takes the subject matter to the very edge of bringing
it to actual life because of the magnitude of its size. Murals involve
communities and they bring people together. Brings people in the
community together because murals usually are a reflection of the
community. Whether the community is a rural town or large inner city
they help educate by showing culture, diversity, history and help to
beautify the area.~Using the Grid to mural~
When I execute a mural I
sometimes like to use the grid method to get my image on the wall. I
do this depending on the intensity and detail of the mural. For those
of you that don't know the grid method I will briefly explain, You
draw out the image on a smaller sheet of paper. After you draw it you
use simple math to construct a grid on top. Example. I will make 1inch
by 1 inch squares on top of the drawing. Depending on the size of the
wall I make a larger grid to scale. I will make the squares in the
larger grid sometimes 1 foot, 2 foot, 3 foot etc. The size of the grid
on the wall depends on the size of the wall. The bigger the wall the
bigger the squares. The largest mural I have painted was in the
Scottsdale museum of fine arts, it was 40 feet long by 24 feet tall. I
used 2 foot squares for the grid. The purpose of the grid is to find
where you are in in perspective and proportion giving you guide lines
to follow.~Briefly how to Begin to mural~
My biggest goal is to
continue to travel around the world painting murals. There is a
formula to ever success. In order to get hired to paint murals in your
community as well as all around the world you have to start murals. It
is difficult sometimes because as a full time artist you need eat and
earn money. You also need to get your name out there and let the
community know that you are a muralist. To get your name exposed a
muralist will donate his/her time to the community and does a few
murals for little or no pay. This is done because you need to build a
portfolio of murals in order to be sought out by other organizations
that need murals to be done. Once the artist has about half a dozen
legitimate murals then the ball starts rolling a bit and you might
start to get a few paying gigs. Because I had a reputation already
with the community and I have built a strong clientele of people that
buy my art, starting to find mural work came naturally.~My First Large
Mural~
Before I executed my first mural I had painted large on canvas
5 foot x 10 foot. My first mural I painted was 40 feet long by 24 feet
tall. I was a little overwhelmed at first. This was to be executed in
the Scottsdale museum of the arts. I was a little nervous because I
had never painted this big let alone in a first class museum. I took
control of my anxiety and got to work. We had scaffolding, ladders,
drop cloths, tools and paint, lots of paint, the whole nine yards....
I gridded the whole wall out with 2 foot by 2 foot squares. After
doing the grid I felt way more confident. I drew my picture all out.
After I drew it out I started with the color fills. Before I knew it
the mural was taking shape and form and I was feeling not just better
about myself but proud of myself. The point is: You have to have a
strategy, a plan of action with well laid out steps for anything to be
accomplished. Now I paint murals all the time, I am known to finish
them sometimes in less then a few hours. But it took hard work,
willing to have a open mind to learn and a honest sense of humility.My
goal is to continue to paint murals. Travel while doing it. Combine
the elements of abstract art, modern wall art, Buddha art, pop art and
stencil art into the creations that I partake in. Also to continue to
get paid well while doing it and contribute to the communities.