Why Just Have Walls? Have Murals!
I work hand in hand with my clients during the design of the custom mural, making sure that they are always happy with the depiction on paper before I proceed with my first paintbrush stroke on their wall. I suggest to my clients to first browse my GALLERY, i.e. mural samples available online in order to see what I have done for clients in the past.
Many of my clients have no idea of what they really want depicted in their mural. In fact, for the most part, I design the murals but not without first gaining information from my client, since this greatly helps in my direction. A few very well-placed questions usually gives me all the direction that I need! I keep the client updated during the painting process, making sure that the client approves at each stage of development of the mural. If there are any concerns or changes that need to be made, then these are taken care of during the painting stage. That way there are no surprises at the end, since clients know exactly what to expect, as it should be.
The longevity of a hand-painted mural depends on many factors, including: interior or exterior exposure; whether or not its painted on a concrete block, brick, drywall or canvas surface; the extent of contact with full sun; whether or not the surface gets really hot or cold; does the wall seep, leak, or sweat? There are paints available for different environmental conditions and they have amazing longevity. All things being equal, your exterior mural should last at least 15-20 years before it starts to show signs of fading. It will last even longer if its treated with a topcoat varnish; however, with silicate paint on an exterior wall, the mural should last essentially forever. Most often, I use professional acrylics for my murals, that is, water-based paints. That would be for interior or exterior projects, drywall to stucco, concrete to brick. The technology for acrylics has developed tremendously in the last few years, making the longevity and color-fastness far superior than what it used to be. I use nontoxic acrylics for children’s rooms.
If a client is planning to move away from an existing location in the near future, but they would still like to have a hand–painted mural in the current home, painting a mural directly on the wall might not be the best idea. But painting a mural on canvas would be a brilliant solution. By painting a mural on canvas, you can have it installed on the wall with strippable wallpaper paste. That way you can simply peel it off the wall for shipping when you are ready to go – your mural can travel with you! Exterior murals are for the most part all painted on site in contrast to interior murals.
Canvas murals are hand-painted in my studio, transported to the site, and then installed; in contrast, a hand-painted mural is simply painted at the site in place. The project design itself determines whether or not I use canvas. If the location for the mural is a simple wall, with not many architectural elements, then I would likely use canvas. If the design entails a strong perspective, or if there are numerous cutouts, such as windows and doors, then I would likely paint the mural directly on location. It is such a joy to paint on brick walls since these surfaces, properly cleaned, really do not have to be treated at all!
Last but not the least, the best way to obtain an estimate of how much a mural will cost is to simply give me a call (Contact Page). We can talk about what it is you’re looking for, and I can usually give you a fairly accurate estimate right over the phone since most costs are dependent upon the size of a mural, the site accessibility and the amount of detail required.
Nothing is too complicated if you take the right approach in doing things. Since I have been doing it for more than 15 years, I have lots of experience and confidence creating beautiful custom murals.