Last but no least, these are a more, fun alternative of the options presented above and entails commissioning a professional artist/muralist to custom design and paint a mural based on your ideas, or fantasy. This avenue, albeit, a fun and exciting experience, can also be a little nerve racking, - not knowing what to expect. But a well-seasoned artist should be able to be able to allay those fears. In going this route - the selection is limited only by your imagination. And if your imagination lacks ideas, the artist should be able to provide plenty.
Oversize Canvas Mural:
An oversize canvas mural option is especially good because if the client were to move in the future, they can always take it with them. Or they can even sell the canvas/art for a profit. These canvas paintings are very durable; they ca be rolled and folded and can also be relocated fairly easily.
There are two options for having a canvas mural. One option is stretch and mount the canvas directly to the wall. The other is to build a frame to stretch the canvas onto, and then mount or hang the frame at a desired location. Both ways entail measuring the wall, cutting canvas to a desired size, and to be installed, hung or stretched onto the wall. The stretched canvas is installed, trimmed and can be finished finished-off with a fancy frame or molding of the client’s choice. In the second option, the canvas frame can be hung on the wall in the traditional manner. In this mural route the artist is only in your house to measure and deliver the art/canvas piece, for he will paint the canvas at his art studio and then deliver the final piece to the client when done.
Now that we have outlined a few options lets discuss how to find an artist when you need one, and what to do once you find one.
One-way to find an artist is call local art stores who will be able to refer you to a couple of them. You can also check with interior designers, or look in the yellow pages of your phone book under, “Artist “, “Commercial Artist”, or “Murals”. Nowadays you can also do a search in Google, or your favorite search engine, for ‘murals’ or ‘muralist’, ‘mural artist’ (in your particular city), and something should come up.
Next, once you find an artist, set-up an initial interview/consultation, this is when you meet the artist and get an idea of the parameters: size, work surface, dimensions, coverage, style and client’s expectations, and establish the price. These things should come out during the first meeting to avoid any disagreements later. A brief contract with specifics like size, wall location, price and terms should be drawn-up and provided by the artist.
When you call the artist to discuss your ideas, ask them about references, their style, technique, experience and pricing. The more experienced the artist, the better the chances the artist will work with you in achieving a satisfactory design. When you meet, naturally, ask to see their portfolio. Nowadays, you can usually visit their website to see their works and get an idea of what they do.
Even though it is OK to call and interview a few artists and get prices, be respectful of their time, too. If you have a budget communicate that to the artist. This will help in finding the right artist to work with you quicker.
Remember, “More important than getting a good price - is getting an artist that can deliver more for your buck”. Says Gatica.
Style-wise, most professional, experienced muralist/artists are flexible, and can usually adapt to your particular needs and style, once they know what you are looking for. Above all, make sure you feel personally comfortable with the artist, as a person. After all, they'll be in your home for a few days as they create and execute the work. Whether you require a sketch or not, you should at least have an understanding of what to expect.
Gatica, believes, that above all - a professional artist should have patience and be a good listener in order to understand what the client expects. He should also be a good communicator to convey his ideas so the client can visualize them.
One-way Gatica communicates his ideas during his initial presentation, is by putting color sketches on transparencies and uses a projector to project the ideas on to the proposed wall/s. Clients’ like this because they can get the feel for what is going up and get a better idea of what to expect - while seeing the impact the mural will provide.
Price, of course, is the foremost concern for almost everyone considering a custom mural. Prices can vary a lot depending on various factors. Do not be afraid to ask the artist for a definite price". Some artists charge by the square footage and others charges by the project/job and include labor, materials and travel.
