Mural, Part 2

Hi all,

Back to see what happened with this mural project no doubt?! Well, I won't disappoint :)

Now that the background had been completed, the 'life' of the mural needed to come next. How was I going to create the characters to complete the project? I wasn't sure I wanted to paint directly onto the bricks- that wouldn't give a sharp or clear enough effect in my mind, and would cheapen the overall look. So I decided on something a bit more hard wearing and something that would stand out- laminated MDF boards. I liked the white laminate side as I assumed it would be easy to paint on, like a blank canvas, and that is what the label claimed. Hmmm, we shall get back to that claim later!

No doubt, I had to start on the main character, Jesus :) Using the Jesus in Jeans (www.jesusinjeans.com) theme, I worked out a design. It was similar but actually took some effort. When happy with the pose, I then had the fun task of working out how to transfer my image from an A4 sheet of paper to 2 sheets of MDF. Not easy, believe me! The white laminate was easy to draw on in pencil, and just as easy to erase-over and over again. Making Jesus a life size character was no easy feat. When I was sure I couldn't rub out any more, I finally got it right. Then something else occurred to me- how was I going to neatly piece top and bottom together? Looking at the design carefully, I worked out that the shirt would be a perfect place to create a jigsaw effect that would neatly fit over the bottom jeans section.

Then it was onto the other characters. Coming up with original designs was quite fun. I didn't want to copy the kids from the Jesus in Jeans images, but rather make it a bit more personal. The little girl was modeled off my eldest daughter and was also a reflection of the gorgeous brown skinned cuties that attended this particular kid's church. The boy with the soccer ball was modeled after a youthful betrayal of my previous senior Pastor, Steve White. He's definitely not a red head but is absolutely mad keen on soccer! The dog, fish, bird and owl were just fun creations, all adding interest and personality to my mural.

Once again, working out how much to enlarge the characters from the A4 sketch was a challenge. Jesus was an impressive 185cm tall, so I had to get my perspective correct. Below are the rough sketches of the dog, boy and little bird...

After drawing up grids over each of the pictures to correspond to the exact height I needed to enlarge them to, I proceeded to transfer the images onto the MDF. When all the designs were done, I contacted Ian Davey (one half of Aunty Lele's Workshop. See www.facebook.com/AuntyLelesWorkshop for more details) to laser cut the designs for me. When you need a professional and prompt job done, you leave it to the experts. Me with a jigsaw attempting to cut out a design is not calling on an expert!

With the cut-outs soon back, it was time to begin painting. Here's where another problem began. The 'ready to paint' laminate was not ready to paint on. In fact, it repelled paint. I tried sandpapering it, then I had to use an undercoat so the paint would stick after sanding.  Success at last. I used a combination of Dulux Design Silk and Jo Sonja's paints to complete each cut-out.

Below is the completed owl. Just so you know, this owl is the prototype for one half of Hank & Petal :)

At last, the main characters were ready to be sealed, then added to the mural wall. That did require some creative thinking, as did working out how to seal Jesus together permanently. As I wasn't going to transport a completed 185cm tall, unbending man to the church, it was best his reassembly occurred on site.

Jesus did prove a challenge to stick to the wall. He needed to have wooden blocks placed behind him and glued on with liquid nails and left to dry. Then I needed to work out a correct position to place him to create balance. I also had to brace his top and bottom half just in case of warping. Then, the fun part- applying fresh liquid nails, I carefully placed Jesus on the wall, and lent on him with my whole body (funny sight as I'm only 157cm tall!) until the glue had set enough for me to let go. The effort was worth it- Jesus had pride of place, and the wooden blocks behind him set him slightly off the wall, adding emphasis to his stature and position. Thankfully, the smaller figures weren't as hard to work out their placement and gluing didn't require as much effort. I glued them flush against the bricks.

When all was in place, I looked at the mural, and something was missing. It needed flowers. Back to Ian Davey to cut out a zillion daisies of various sizes. Oh, weren't they fun to paint But worth every bit of effort- even though i painted far too many and didn't need two thirds of them. 

Here is the final work, complete with an adorable little picket fence created by a dear and amazingly talented craftsman who creates amazing things out of wood, Ian Wilkins, to help protect the mural from chairs and enthusiastic children...

This officially ended on Day 5. I only worked one day per week on the mural due to work commitments, and yes, there was some designing/ creating at home, but still, I accomplished a massive task in less than a month and a half. Not bad considering my vast past experience!

Hope you all enjoyed this. As always, more to come soon :)