Showing posts with label mural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mural. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sequoia Elementary Silhouette Mural Project: Jeannette Fromm shares her process of creating a mural for a local elementary school.


Have you ever been curious about how an artist paints a mural?

I recently painted a mural for a local elementary school and was asked by several people about my process. For fun, I am including some photos and the steps that I took in creating Sequoia Elementary’s Silhouette Mural Project 2013.

The Project: Silhouettes of six students in a mural, exemplifying the positive energy and spirit of children.  The mural was part of the school’s fundraising auction, and each spot on the mural was auctioned off to six lucky winners.

Photo-Shoot
The mural began with the coordination of a photo-shoot, which was the most important and the most stressful step. This step was the most stressful, because there were many considerations, like the kids’ personalities, activities to do, and getting clear shots that read well as a silhouette. Success here was very important because the final shots determined the overall look of the mural. 


Pose Arrangement
Arrangement of the photos was the next step and also important. At this point I arranged the poses so that the flow of activity worked well together. Creating a good arrangement would add to the overall spirit of the mural. 


Paper Cutouts
With poses and arrangement decided, the next step was to create life sized cutouts. I projected each child onto large white paper and traced them for accuracy. I carefully cut out each silhouette. These paper cutouts were then used as templates. I taped all six  cutouts to the wall, and traced each.


Painting the Mural



Painting the mural was the final step of the process and the most fun for me, because I love painting! I pushed to complete the project before the school’s Open House event so that the parents and community would have the finished mural to enjoy. The whole project took about two and a half weeks to complete. I am very happy with the final mural!


Here is the final mural for 2013.
Silhouette Project 2013


Here is the one I painted for Sequoia Elementary in 2010:

Silhouette Project 2010