It has
been interesting, over the years, to hear individuals' thoughts on
the difficulty of doing exterior murals.
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| Tampa Bay Artist, Ana Livingston restoring the Avenue du Jardin mural in Clearwater, FL. |
I
would say on a whole that their views are split about 50/50. About
half think it's a walk in the park ("I mean, how hard can
painting be?"), with the other just standing in amazement.
The
fact of the matter is the reality differs from person to person,
season to season, job to job.
I've
worked on what I would consider substantial jobs (120' horizontal
walls on a graveled decline, meaning extreme attentiveness as well as
four stages of scaffolding at the bottom,) to a 6'x6' piece I could
do standing on a 2-foot step ladder.
One of
the biggest factors, and one most don't consider, is the hoisting of
one's body weight up one, two, three or more stages of scaffolding
dozens of times each day. And then there's the obvious climbing back
down, using the already-weary muscles. This coupled with the pure
exhaustion of being out in the elements for hours on end can have
quite a cumulative effect.
Another
aspect most never think of is the fact that once you are up on
scaffolding--which you are entrusting with your very life and never,
ever forget for a moment--is the fact that muscles are constantly
tensed: legs and pelvis for support, torso for control, and
ultimately your arm and hand for accuracy.
Additionally,
you'd be amazing how one must contort their body--and hold it
completely still--for entire sections of precise work. There are
other instances, and any artist doing large murals can attest to
this, where one must simply use their other hand. Now, I am
left-handed, and am obviously very adept at using it artistically.
BUT, there are always points in large projects where one really must
employ the other hand. This action adds its own stress factors.
The
other elements, literally, are the heat index, rain, wind, etc.
These can have a profound effect on you, especially when you are
elevated and at the wall's edge. Winds are funneled which contribute
to stability issues, and tend to rapidly dry out the paint; all in
addition to leaving you physically parched.
Of the
elements, the sun and heat are the largest factors. I currently
limit my mural painting to that time of day when the sun is NOT
directly beating down on me. This is just common sense, but even
with that tactic I am not escaping the humidity (or, in the case of
mural creation in Florida during the summer months, extreme heat
anyway). The overall heat issue can be unbearable to many, but I
just take it in stride.
Now,
I've only talked about some of the physical and environmental factors
required in executing a mural. The rest are mental and artistic.
When you are up in the air ten, twenty, or more feet and are standing
two feet from an enormous wall surface, one CAN get lost in it. An
artist has to continually “view” the entire work from, say, 30'
back from the wall. This is an interesting concept for sure, but
without this ability, one would spend ¾ of their day climbing down
and stepping back to see what they need to do next. Not very
efficient. One has to maintain an overall sense of where everything
is and their exact strategy on what comes next.
My
current mural has an additional ingredient that makes it even more
demanding. The original concept art was 8.5”x11”. I have had to
recalculate that out onto a 13'x55' wall. All this without throwing
anything out of proportion. I've drawn in markers on the entire
surface, but with many things, what looks good on paper doesn't
always translate into the real world. All this is to say that there
are constant refinements and alterations taking place as I paint.
Yes, more to make the project interesting!
In
closing I want to add THE most important point in all of this: it is
done very happily and for the sheer love of the work. This is my
most favorite of art forms, and the gratification that comes back to
me, when people go out of their way to tell me that the mural has
touched them, is enormous. But even with that said, I don't do what
I do for me; I do it for anyone and everyone with the hope that it
uplifts them, if only for that moment.
~Ana
Official Website of Tampa Bay Fine Artist & Muralist, Ana Livingston
The Making of a Mural: The Mural Chronicle of Artist, Ana Livingston
