Murals With a Message
Cross-Curricular-Art and Social Studies
Multicultural Possibilities
Grades 4-12

Description:

Since the earliest artwork such as the cave paintings at Lascaux, humans have painted on the walls that surround them to beautify, to seek understanding, and to communicate meaning about all areas of human concern. Modern painters that worked in this art form were the Mexican Muralists, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and later, Rufino Tamayo. Among notable American Muralists were Violet Oakley, Edward Austin Abbey and Wyland, the contemporary "Whaling Wall" muralist. Murals can be easily painted onto a multitude of surfaces using acrylic paints. With the proper ground preparation, murals can last many years on interior or exterior walls. Removable murals can be created on wood panels or canvas. This allows for a gigantic moving exhibit. Murals bring art to the masses just by their size. Placed in public, a mural can increase awareness of the arts as well as convey a message in a language all can understand.

Objectives:

Students will develop knowledge and skill of the processes and techniques of painting a mural.

Students will recognize historical and cultural influences in art and appreciate art as a vehicle for public expression of ideas.

Students will develop group skills, working together to produce a single mural or several related murals.

Materials:

General Directions:

  1. Review the artwork of some of the muralists listed above or some that are active in your state or city. Discuss murals found in cities such as Tucson, Arizona or Los Angeles, California. Discuss themes found in murals and the relationship between the mural's creation and current events of that time period.
  2. Select a site for your mural. The dimensions of the site should be whole numbers with no fractions.
  3. Prepare paper for drawing out ideas. The paper should have the same proportions as the section of wall you will be painting. If the wall is 7 feet tall by 10 feet long, your paper must have a 7 to 10 ratio of height to width. Some sizes of paper that would work are 7" x 10", 14" x 20" or 21" x 30".
  4. Draw gridlines on the paper. Using the example above, on a 7" x 10"sheet of paper draw squares that are 1" in size. These will represent each square foot of the mural. On a 14" x 20" sheet of paper, every 2" square would represent a square foot of the mural, as 2 times 7 is 14 and 2 times 10 is 20. On a 21" by 30" piece of paper each 3" square would represent a square foot, as 3 times 7 is 21 and 3 times 10 is 30.
  5. Have students select a theme and draft suitable and representative ideas on the properly proportioned and gridded paper. Vote on one design, or create many small versions. Small murals can be painted along hallways or applied to wood panels or large pieces of canvas.
  6. Draw a final draft. Apply color.

Preparing the Surface:

  1. If you are working in an old building, do not sand the surface as layers of the paint may contain lead. Wash the wall to remove grease and dirt and coat with oil based KILZ, a product available at paint and home improvement stores. Let the surface dry for 48 hours.
  2. If you know that the paint to be covered is oil-based, it must be removed, sanded off or sanded and covered with oil-based KILZ. Let the surface dry for 48 hours. Shiny surfaces are probably oil-based paint.
  3. If the paint to be covered is a water-based paint, such as latex, it should be sanded and gessoed.
  4. Coat unpainted wood, plaster, brick or concrete with gesso.

Painting the Mural:

  1. Using graphite (a pencil or a graphite stick) or dark chalk, draw the grid in the proper size squares according to your drawing (see above) on your prepared site. Do not use a felt tip marker, as it will bleed through your paint. Draw the lines from each square on your drawing into the corresponding square on the wall. This means you will greatly enlarge the drawing in each square. The top left square of your drawing will be represented in the top left square on the mural. It may help to number the squares on the drawing as well as on the mural, so that each square on the drawing is numbered the same as its corresponding square on the mural. See diagram. The smaller grid represents the drawing and the larger one, the mural.
  2. Paint the image using acrylic paints. Let the paint dry 48 hours between coats and also after you are through painting.
  3. Seal with one coat of varnish. If you choose a matte varnish be aware that, because of the porous nature of matte varnishes, it will trap the dirt and be more difficult to clean. A gloss finish cleans up more easily and will heighten colors. Sax Tempera Varnish is highly adhesive, durable and tough. A more economical choice would be the Sax Acrylic Medium.
  4. If you choose to add a second coat of varnish, wait a full week before applying it. If you fail to do this you may wind up with a milky effect, as the first coat of varnish will "bloom." Test an inconspicuous corner before proceeding.

Tips:

  1. Use nylon and synthetic brushes. Natural brushes may wear quickly on the rough surface of the wall.
  2. Protect clothing and floors. This project is messy.
  3. To estimate the amount of paint needed, think in terms of painting a room. A small room with 4 walls can be covered with one gallon. Be sure to buy more of the main colors. You may be able to use tube acrylics for small areas and details.
  4. It is best to paint outdoor murals away from southern sun exposures to avoid fading. Also, try to select a paint that is very lightfast for exterior murals. It is recommended that you use the best quality paint your budget will allow for interior or exterior murals if the mural will be a permanent installation.

National Standards:

Content Standard #1: Understanding and applying media, techniques and processes.

Content Standard #5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.