Growing up as an Artist, I remember projects that I did that started me in the direction of being a muralist. While in the 8th Grade, I was tasked with painting a backdrop for the Chorus Review. It seemed huge, but it must of only been 8' x 20', a street scene of New York's Theatre District. I was a Backstage Hand at my High School after classes, as a job. That taught me the ins and outs of being in a live theatre. I escaped the heat of the desert in Tucson while in college to make a career in the Marine Corps. The old adage of "Artist's Starve" kept me from pursuing a career in art. Everywhere I went while enlisted in the Marines, my commanders found out I was an artist and had me paint murals, design unit t-shirts and several Marines had me design tattoos.

 

What a concept! Make a living as an Artist Annie! So I went to work in the Theme Parks, building environments, later to travel the world as a Lead Sculptor. While working in Europe, I injured my shoulder and had to return to the states. I came back to Tucson to start my own company back in 1999. Since then, I've painted many Murals, which lead to more Decorative Finishes and later an Interior Design degree.

 

I try to compete as often as I can. I've pasteled big murals during Chalk Festivals in Orlando and Phoenix and won 1st Place of 250 artists at the Orlando Street Chalking Festival in 1997. I went to Lodi, Italy in 2005 to compete in the International Trompe L'Oeil Festival, a timed festival for 1m x 2m murals that was a juried entry. I won a Special Award for Technique (4th of 72 international artists). I also am requested often to paint for Parade of Homes and to do live demonstrations and workshops.

 

The definition of a Mural is: A painting that is applied directly to a wall or ceiling, usually in a large scale.

 

There are different types of murals including Buon Fresco, Fresco Secco, Latex and/or Acrylic, Canvas and Mixed Media. There are many styles of murals including Landscape, Figurative (Portrait), Political, Grotesques/Arabesques, Panorama and Religious.

 

Buon Fresco is perhaps the oldest form. Wet lime plaster was painted in a watercolor style using ground natural pigments of earth, minerals and gems. There is a very small amount of time that fresh plaster allows paint to be absorbed into it. After approximately 45 minutes to 2 hours, the plaster dries to a point that it starts to crystalize. Wet pigments will no longer sink into the plaster. The artist must stop his/her composition at this time. This is why large teams of muralists would tackle the grand murals of churches and government buildings. Working fast and at large scale are the two most difficult aspects of painting murals. The Sistine Chapel was painted using the buon fresco technique. Note that any major mistakes in the painting would of needed to be cut off the wall and redone again. Buon Fresco is the most challenging type of painting a muralist can perform.

 

Fresco Secco is a type of mural that is painted onto drying plaster. The plastered surface is soaked with slaked lime and lime resistant pigments are applied before the plaster is completely set. Today the term is more relaxed and can be painted with different agents used to hold the pigments onto the plaster. Some are better than others. This technique was used to correct minor mistakes on a buon fresco, but also as a form in itself. DaVinci’s Last Supper is a good example of how the agents are not completely absorbed and can flake off with time. Nowadays artists refer to painting onto dry plaster as Fresco Secco.

 

Murals may be the oldest art form in the world and are products of many cultures. Lime cave paintings in Europe date back 30,000 years ago. The America’s native population also have ancient cave paintings, the Mayas and Aztecs were known to decorate their temples and cities with wall paintings. Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, China, and India all have beautiful ancient murals.

 

Most murals are detailed enough to stand close to them, but are traditionally viewed from farther away. Muralists have incorporated perspective and Trompe L’Oeil (to Fool the Eye) techniques to create different effects of space and depth.

 

It takes a special kind of artist to be a muralist. Most muralists work in a number of different media including fine art, trompe l’oeil and mixed media. Being able to transfer ideas to large scale without getting lost on a huge wall; using the laws of perspective; keeping interest with color and movement and the challenge of creating a beautiful art piece are problems that are dealt with on a continuous basis. Muralists most often work with what a client wants, making them competitive for having a huge range of styles and skills that many other artists never need to develop.