Evolution of a mural

When I first started in this business I strictly did murals, hence my business name, Natalie Gorden Murals.  After many wonderful classes with some very talented folks in the business, I branched out to include decorative (faux) finishes in my repertoire. Over the last few years, it seems, I've done mostly faux and fewer murals, so when I get a call for a mural I get very excited because I love to do them not only as a change of pace but creatively, they are very satisfying.

Previous school mural

 Last spring I was contacted by the principal of a local middle school who, thankfully, found me and my work through a google search. (Glad to know that still works). Scott told me he wanted a mural done in the school gymnasium to replace a mural that was already there.  The school's mascot is "magic" and the previous mural was done in a theme that he and many teachers and parents felt was no longer relevant to the school and the image he wanted to project. He wanted something that depicted unity and diversity.  Upon our first meeting he showed me an image of a mural done by a very talented artist in Colorado. It was exactly what he wanted. Using another artist's design poses a problem for copyright issues and I would not do so if I didn't have the express permission of that artist. Upon browsing the artist's website, www.markclinedesign.com, I read that he was happy to share the image with other artists. Whew! That was a relief. So the remaining challenge of this mural was that it was really two murals in one. The first mural was to be the image of  two hands intertwined in a round shape with a globe superimposed on top. You can see Mark's mural here. Such a great image it's no wonder our principal wanted to use it.

The hands image was to be painted on a moveable wall consisting of 13 four-foot panels that slide to either the cafeteria or the gymnasium and needed to stand on its own.  The second mural was to be painted on the concrete border surrounding the stage area of the gym, therefore ultimately tying into the hand mural.  It was nice that the first mural was already designed for me, although I'd love to design something original, I truly like the image chosen and Scott's mind was already set on this image.

My version of the global hands, wall is on the cafeteria side.

The next challenge was to design the rest of the mural in such a way to incorporate the first mural and depict images fit for a sports gymnasium. The P. E. teachers had their opinions which is understandable because they spend more time in the gym than anybody. It seems that the previous mural which I was to cover, was never approved or even run by them so I wanted to make something they'd enjoy as well. It took us a few tries to nail down the design but we finally came up with something to please everybody and THAT is a feat in and of itself.

 Having a background in Graphic Design, I tend to create a lot of my designs on the computer. For this mural, that was very helpful because I wanted a very simple yet impactive design. Depicting "magic" is not easy.  I could see the direction the previous murals was going, but it was not what the staff wanted. The school's uniforms and logo have stars in them, so we went with that and as the P.E. teachers requested, kept the original "Magic Kingdome" theme for the gym.  A few sports silhouettes chosen by the teachers were all we needed for our gym tie in. The crown and stars help with the "magic" theme in a subtle way. 

This mural was my third middle school in Washoe County School District and I'm very honored to have been chosen to execute it.

Easy painting tips
Personalizing a child's room on a budget
My son was four years old when we moved into our new house. He was used to his old room and he had only just adapted to sleeping by himself. This new room in a strange house was very intimidating. He had a hard time sleeping in it until I painted a room full of dinosaurs for him.

You don't have to be an artist to create a comfortable and familiar place for your child to feel at home. Here's a few tips that can create that space that they'll want to be in.

1. Have them help choose the paint color. I realize that your daughter may go for Pepto Bismol pink, but with a little coercion, you can direct her toward the lightest pink on the swatch stick and she'd still be happy.
A great way to choose colors is to find them in her favorite comforter.
2. Don't be afraid to paint a stripe or two in bright colors to add some interest. It's easier than you think and if you check this blog there are some great tips on how to paint a straight line. Even some polka dots in different sizes are totally easy and way fun. An even better idea is to take simple elements from that comforter and mimic them on the wall on a large scale like these flowers.
3. Go to a thrift store and find a side table, dresser, or even headboard and give it a good paint job. You'd be surprised how an old, seemingly ugly piece can be transformed.
4. Get frames half of at the craft store (ours seems to always have a sale) and put your child's artwork in it.
5. Again, go to the craft store and buy your child's name in wood letters. Spray paint them, put some stickers on them, or leave them plain. Have them help you paint and hang them and they'll love it.

The great thing about paint is that it's cheap. Don't be afraid to put those colors on the wall. Who cares if it doesn't go with the rest of the house.

30 days in August

As much as I set my mind to blog once a week, I've already blown that goal and am now posting a full two months since my last article. I've been a very busy girl and have four murals, three faux finishes and 9 cut out and painted characters two show for it! When I'm not busy I'm crying and when I'm busy I'm crying. I suppose that is an artist for you.
My month of August started out with a friend asking me to check out this new home and garden center opening up in mid month and would I want to do a booth in it. Well here I am now and I did two finishes in the reception area, a mural for a landscaper's booth and a faux finish for my own wall along with a trompe l'oeil window. In the midst of all of this I had a gig to start for a new Goddard School opening up in the south part of town that wanted two large murals and mascots for each of their 9 rooms. I have to say that I've not worked so hard in a very long time. My house has not been this thrashed in a very long time! I've finished all with flying colors, except for my own booth which may never be totally finished in my head anyway. (never good enough in my head, most artists can identify with this I think)
I have to say that I truly was blessed to land such a wonderful job as The Goddard School and to have it as sort of a respite in the midst of working a much more trying job (or two) at the Home and Garden Center was probably what saved me from going absolutely crazy. I had a great time designing the characters and the owners were so kind. Here is the main mural finished, and yes, I should do a better job piecing the photo together, but I've got little energy left and you can get the idea anyway. The wall measured 10 foot 10 inches square oddly enough and is facing you as you walk into the school.

The very creative couple who own the school had this great idea of "Come explore our world" I love it when a client can articulate what is in their head and I am just able to interpret. We had nine class rooms to represent in the mural and the animals were each put on a continent with the explorer in the ocean. It couldn't have worked out better.
Next we decided that a procession of the animals walking into the school along side the children as they enter would be in order and this is what I came up with for the entry hall.

I had an absolutely wonderful time painting this one and hope to do more like this.

I have great pics of the mural and finishes in the home and garden center that I will share on the next post.