As I was in the midst of working on my most recent mural project, the designer walked by and commented that I seemed like “such a happy man”. Truth is, she was right – I truly love working on murals!
This project was for an office redesign in Cambridge, MA. To help make the space special, the facilities manager wanted the walls to include two hand-done custom murals based on historical images of the Cambridge area. The tricky part was that they needed them done in just over 2 week
As always, I started the process by collaborating with my clients on the look they were going for. The designer shared historical photos they liked and showed me the walls – one needing a 20’ mural and the other a 30’ mural! Based on these initial conversations, I did a painting concept for one wall, but also included a sketch to show an alternate composition. While they liked the painting, they were intrigued by the sketch – and wanted to know if I could do a mural that looked like a sketch, and if it would take me less time than the painting. The answer to both was “yes”! To do both murals as full painting, I would not have been able to meet the deadline, but with the new approach it was possible!
The only challenge was I then needed to figure out how to translate the look of pencil on paper to a 20’ and 30’ wall. One of the key considerations was that I needed the line work to be much thicker than a pencil to work on the large scale. I did some experimenting and landed on using pastels. The pastels gave me the nice thick lines, and by using various shades of gray, I could also create depth by using lighter colors in the background.
My remaining challenge, however, was how to make sure my drawing wouldn’t just rub off the wall when I was done! Again, after some experimentation, I discovered a multi-step process with acrylic polyurethane – using spray, gentle brushing and then rolling to create a completely durable finish in the end.
For the content of the murals, I started with photos of Craigie Bridge and Oak Square – making tweaks to fit the space.
In the end, I was able to give my client the look they wanted AND meet the deadline! … And I loved doing it.
Following are pictures of the final result. Enjoy!
20’x9’ mural of Craigie Bridge
30’x9’ mural of Oak Park
Oak Park mural
Oak park mural detail
Oak Park mural detail