How to Paint a Wall Mural

A wall mural can be a beautiful feature of a room or outdoor area; a large image draws the eye and adds an artistic flair to a space. However, painting a wall mural is unlike any other kind of painting. Rather than focusing on fine details, an artist has to maintain a sense of the big picture and make sure that the whole piece looks good from a distance.

Preparing a wall to be painted is more work than setting up an easel. The required tools are different and more expensive. Even the physical motions of painting large details are quite different than with smaller canvases. A wall piece also requires much more patience and persistence to complete. But with planning and stamina, an artist can create a beautiful mural that becomes the centerpiece of any location.

Preparation

The first step is to choose where to paint the mural. A wall must be made of material appropriate to paint on, and it should be visible so that all the hard work and dedication that goes into the piece can be appreciated.

Once the right spot has been found, the wall must be cleaned and primed. Dirty, dusty, or previously painted walls may not hold a fresh coat of paint very well. Sanding an old coat of paint off the wall may not be necessary, since good quality primers can grip old paint and create a good surface for new paint to hold on to. For a smoother surface, however, sanding off old paint might be worth it. A sanding block dipped in a mild soapy solution will help eliminate the dust that comes with sanding, to ensure a dust-free wall. But whether the old paint is removed or not, a wall should be well cleaned and given enough time to dry before applying any new primer or paint.

Once the wall is clean and prepared, the image must be transferred onto the wall on a much larger scale than the original sketch. The usual method for enlarging and transferring the image is the grid method, where the small sketch is divided into a grid that corresponds to a scaled-up grid of the same proportions on the actual wall, and then each square is replicated to scale on the wall. This is important to maintain the shapes and proportions of the original sketch, so that the large size won’t warp the image. Alternately, a projector may be used to transfer the sketch onto the wall in correct proportion.

Tools

The materials used will affect the quality, longevity of a mural, and easy of paint application, so choosing the right paints and tools is very important when painting a mural. As mentioned before, the primer will be one important material—a good quality home improvement acrylic primer will work well without being as expensive as an art primer like gesso.

Acrylic mural paints are the highest quality paints for large projects because they last the longest and look the best, but they can also be quite expensive in large quantities. Again, less expensive wall paint from a hardware store can be useful for filling in large surfaces and laying down the base colors. After the less expensive paint is applied, higher quality acrylics can be used to add texture, shading, and other details.

The paints for a mural should be matte or eggshell to avoid light reflection and glares, and if acrylic paints need to be thinned, either to spread them further or to create translucency to add shading, depth, and dimension to the painting, then a matte acrylic gel medium or glazing medium will be the most useful tool. These can be mixed with acrylic paints in different ratios to create different effects.

High quality brushes are recommended to avoid bristles falling out, and specialized brushes or even sponges may be necessary for certain techniques. Other techniques may require other materials, including painter’s tape and stencils, which are useful for getting crisp lines or more precise shapes.

Although paint and brushes are key tools for a painting project, your safety (while completing the project) is the most important aspect to consider. Depending where your project is located and what time of day you’ll be painting, make sure to have a reflective vest, so that you’re easy to spot. Also, while a ladder might get the job done, painting walls higher than 6 feet should be done from a scaffold. It’s sturdier than a ladder and enables you to get closer to the wall to avoid the chance of falling.

Techniques and Tips

Sponging is a great technique for getting large areas of texture on a mural, and stippling lots of dots with smaller brushes is a method for mixing colors into an interesting blend to mask sweeping brushstrokes. Thinning paint into a glaze, as mentioned above, is not only a way to add shading, but it can also be used to put an antique wash over the completed mural, if an antiquing color like sienna is thinned into a very light glaze and dabbed onto the whole mural.

Whatever you’re painting, a mural is going to take a lot of time and effort to create—but in the end, a plain wall will be transformed into a beautiful work of art.