School Holiday Peace

It is week 2 at my Southall school and it is the half term holiday so there are no children about and very few teachers. Only a short 3 and a half day week this week as Monday was a Bank Holiday and Friday the caretaker wanted to shut up early as there was no-one around. I still managed to get a fair amount done, though.

As you can see, I have started on the left and have been painting the major objects in the mural one at a time. It's slow going painting onto brick as the irregular surface means that you can't do grand sweeping brush strokes but I am really enjoying painting this one as I'm getting lots of positive feedback from the public that walk by.

Tuesday this week was interrupted for most of the day by heavy rain which meant that the main front wall couldn't be worked on so I started on the left hand side wall leading into the entrance.

Painting a mural in public

I started a large commission this week, painting an outside wall of a school in London. The infant and junior school is situated in the Southall area of London and is right on the High Street, so the mural that I am painting is attracting lots of attention!

As you can see it started off as just a plain brick wall. It measures approximately 10ft high by 30ft long. Around the left hand corner it continues up to the main entrance for about 12 feet which shall also be painted and also the small wall to the right will be included.

I spent the first two days this week cleaning the brickwork and then painting it white to act as a primer. Having a white undercoat also makes the top coat colours brighter and more vibrant. The door was also stripped, sanded and then primed ready for painting.

After week one I have got most of the basic design marked out and started on the background colours and a few of the higher details. I like to start at the top of a mural and work downwards if possible. It's quite rare that I drip any paint these days but starting at the top eliminates the problem of dripping onto previously painted areas. The best thing about this job is the enthusiasm of the children who all seem really excited to be watching the mural develop!