How to make a mural/Part 5: Transferring the image

I gotta admit, this next part scared me a little.  Designing something sweet and prepping a mural surface both take a lot of time and work- but both are manageable! Transferring an image  onto a 900 square foot wall- that takes some serious strategy- and math.

You have a few different options when it comes to mural-transfers:

First, there’s the pouncing method. This is the technique Michelangelo used to transfer his full-scale drawings onto the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

First the artist makes a line drawing of their full-scale image on paper. Holes are punched through the paper at  frequent intervals along the drawing. This punched paper outline is then taped to the wall and a charcoal or chalk powder is “pounced” over the holes, forcing the powder through the holes onto the wall. When you remove the paper from the wall you should be left with a series of small dots following the lines of the original drawing which can then be used as guidelines for the painting.

Here are some examples. Quilters seem to use the pouncing method a lot- these examples are from the quilting world:

You can also project your image onto the wall. Old school projectors and transparencies are a good way to go (my fav, even if they do remind me of high school math class):

and even better, digital projectors that work with your computer:

This is a great way to go for smaller scale indoor walls like the one below, but can be problematic for large walls outside (getting far enough away from the wall, having light conditions be dark enough, perspective issues, scaffolding getting in the way of the projection, etc).

Finally, there’s the gridding process. It is an inexpensive, low-tech, time-intensive process, and while it is not as quick as using a projector, it does have the added benefit of helping to improve your drawing and observational skills. A plus for the Apprentices!

In a nutshell, the grid method involves drawing a grid over your reference image, and then drawing a grid of equal ratio on your primed mural surface. Then you draw the image on your  wall, focusing on one square at a time, until the entire image has been transferred.

Here is my team gridding the wall: we marked one-foot increments across the top, bottom and both sides of the wall, then used a snap-line to “draw” the lines across the wall. Annie is at the top holding the chalk line, and each team member below her is handing the line down to the very bottom, where Sydney was holding it in place where it is marked. When the line was in place and pulled tight, each person snapped it at their level of scaffolding.

ohhhh SaNAP!

It was easy to translate my image into a line drawing on the computer.

From there, I took the line drawing into Illustrator and created a grid in the same ratio as the one we had created on the wall. Five-foot sections were printed out on 8.5 x 11 paper.

Apprentices took on one five foot section at a time. Up they went on the scaffolding, using their amazing observation skills to make this 900 square foot image come to life.

Below: Chad and Erika

One square foot at a time! Emily, Sydney and Ke’Monte

Ke’Monte is in the far corner transferring the bunny he designed himself.  This was one of the coolest things about our mural I think.  The apprentices designed, transferred and painted each of their own illustrations. This really gave them a sense of ownership to the project.

It took us two days to completely transfer the image. It was Friday when we finished. The end of the first week in our four week mural process.

So in week one we finished  rough drafts, refined the final image, made a formal mural presentation to the public, cleaned, primed, gridded, and transferred our mural image onto the wall.

And on the 6th day we rested.

How to make a mural/Part 1: Location Location Location

I can’t believe its already mid -September! This post starts off a series that is long over-due, all about the journey of making a mural for the first time.

To bring you all up to speed : Last time on DoubleFresh Allison and I had both just quit our jobs to travel up the West Coast for a month. It was a bold move, but we knew our paths had to change – and the timing was right. We were unsure of the outcome, especially in regards to our future incomes.

I got a phone call when we were in Las Vegas from ArtWorks, where I had just left my administrative position a few weeks earlier. They knew I wanted to start my career as an artist and they were calling to see if i would lead  a mural for the upcoming summer program. I was shocked, excited, and thankful.  I got this photo and I knew for sure – I had definetly made the right decision.

This is my wall. It is on the backside of the historic Germainia building and is located on the corner of Jackson and 12th streets in Cincinnati’s rapidly growing arts district called the Gateway Quarter. The Quarter is situated between Over the Rhine and Downtown and is home to ArtWorks’ and Fine Arts Fund’s new offices, Know Theater, the Art Academy, and great shops like Park & Vine and The Little Mahatma. Its one of my favorite parts of the city.

I went to go see my wall the day we landed back in Cincinnati. This is a small wall for an ArtWorks project -in fact it was the smallest wall of the summer -sizing up at 900 sq feet. By comparison the largest wall this summer was at least four times the size of mine.  Tina Westerkamp led that massive project in Covington Kentucky (Ironically we were the last ones to finish our murals, on the same day)

(Tina’s wall in Covington)

I was standing in front of my wall for the first time, and what looked manageable on the tiny screen of my iphone from miles away, looked like a total beast in person.  The Germania Building is not just any other building, either. It is a gorgeous historic landmark built in 1877 as a monument to the German immigrants who were hugely significant in Cincinnati’s formation. The building’s style is an example of Renaissance Revival, and is one of the most ornate in the city. On the second floor front is a statue named Germania, who symbolizes German culture and spirit.

While I was still on the other side of the country, ArtWorks met with Kelly Dragoo and Kelly Murphy, owners of the Germaina Building and of Eden Floral Boutique, the business on the first floor of the building.  The Kellys would be my clients, so it was up to me to paint them a mural that they would absolutely love.

Part of the success of this project was due to ArtWorks pairing their clients with an artist who could execute the kind of imagery and style they were looking for. The Kellys told us they wanted something edgy, fun, hip and colorful. I was thankful they were thinking along these lines, becuase I know I certainly was.

We landed back in Cincinnati, and I hit the ground running. I had two weeks to come up with the very best mural designs I knew how…