Muralist's Trick

Sleeping inside a camera: a Camera Obscura projects the outside world onto interior walls

Large-scale paintings were sometimes created using a Camera Obscura, which was an optical aid to help artists trick their mind into seeing the world more objectively as a camera does - even before film cameras were invented.

The photo above is from my room in Mae Salong, Thailand. The patches of light and color on my walls moved lazily along with traffic noises outside, and soon I realized these were no ordinary shadows that flickered onto my wooden walls: they were a genuine camera obscura thanks to a crack in my wooden shutters.

It turns out I was sleeping inside a giant pinhole camera, and these shadows were the scene from the morning market outside, inverted and reflected into my guesthouse room. Light flashed from chrome motorbikes and onto the wall above me. A red lantern swayed outside my window, its tassels grazing the wooden balcony below. On sunny mornings it’s like watching a television on my bedroom walls – but with the same background every day.

HKMS Meeting June 2006

Participated HKMS directors from left to right are Joel Ferraris, Rebecca Tam, Irene Leung, Martie Geiger-Ho, Elizabeth Briel, & Kong Ho. 

Kong's new Philadelphia mural design

Also, I think it is good to share with you all of my recent Philadelphia mural design painted color layout. If the organization can raise enough money, then I may work on this mural this August. So I have upload the design and prospective look once the mural is painted on the wall.

Joel's recent Detour Mural

I have seen Joel's recent Detour Mural on his Facebook. I know it was a joint art activity with the HARAYA last year, but other members may not have the chance to see this community mural. So I post the on-site mural picture here to share with you all.

Martie's new still-life painting

Martie has just finished her still-life demonstration painting for her painting classes. So she wants to share with all of you. I think it is good ideas for our core members to use our blog to post some recent work in order to encourage each other to work on our art, no matter is personal or public.

New Year, new activities for the HKMS

Photo of HKMS mural in Yau Tong

One of our many goals for 2008 is to document the current state of the 100+ HKMS murals in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and the New Territories.

Here's a link to an article about the mural featured above, in Yau Tong, Kowloon. It was sponsored by the HK Housing Authority as part of an effort to "promote community harmony and local participation".

Recent mural-painting photos:

the proposed mural from a distance

Thanks to Photoshop. Now we can have a preview of how the mural will look like on the wall.

Hopefully, should there be no further major revisions needed for this design, the actual mural will look like this. Notice that the area has benches and school tables in there. This is where students congregate and therefore the mural will be a welcome sight.

the sketch

I just hope and pray that the Principal, the Art Teacher and all the students will finally agree on this layout.

This is supposedly a line drawing or sketch of the mural design that we will utilize this coming workshop resumption. We will apply two coats of gesso before enlarging this skecth on the actual wall.

With the use of grid lines and grid squares, it will be very helpful to us as we begin sketching and drawing directly on the wall surface,

stage 5: more contrast this time

As mentioned in stage 3, there is competition among the many elements in that picture because of their strong colors and interesting shapes.

Now to solve this conflict the walls, with the gate, were enhanced into a darker shade and color. This change has given emphasis to the foreground elements and those in the background. This has also helped in introducing a feeling of depth as one looks at the mural.

It's interesting how the ship and the people and animals present has triggered the thought about the story of Noah's ark. Could this subliminally be the representation of the modern day Noah's ark. Surely the studenst have their own unique interpretations and stories to tell.

stage 3

Here almost all of the elements are now present and makes the image a bit crowded but in a festive mood.

Students gave us their individual ideas and stories behind each and every image that they have submitted as part of the requirements for the preparation of the mural design and layout.

Notice that the colors are bright and it seems that all the elements in the picture plus their colors compete for attention while the wall just above the three arches stands-out from the rest because of its bright pale yellow color.

adding the elements

In the past we do the mural layout by using cutouts of the images submitted by each and every mural workshop participants. We then compose a puzzle until we arrive at a satisfactory overall design and layout, after which a final layout is drawn or painted by hand on a piece of board. The size of the board is proportional to the actual size of the desired wall.

Now by using Photoshop things are a lot easier as the computer could facilitate the design process. Yet there is one concern - people might gradually or completely forget the importance of hand drawing and sketching.

In this stage we now have several elements added on the design as they play important roles in the unfolding of a collective product of several imaginations.

mural design development process (stage 1)

From among the many images and sketches either drawn or researched by students, one image was picked to start the design process going.

What more could give students, surrounded by boring blank walls and limited spaces, the chance to breath and relax a little bit more is another space "carved" through that wall.

This image was taken from the original sketch by one of the students, was developed on Photoshop and fitted on the wall.

preparing the wall

The wall painted with three coats of gel medium in blue tint. This technique helps artists to evenly apply the transparent gel on the wall.

It is helpful to consider the shape and size of the wall when designing murals. Wall area considerations, the allowable distance to view the mural from afar and the expected crowd of viewers are just some of main factors that affect the process of producing a suitable design.

sketch of hands

sketch of hands, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

sketch of squares

sketch of squares, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Big Fish

design01, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Big Fish with Explanation

design01 with explanation, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Graphic Designs

student design04, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

student design 3, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

studentdesign02, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

studentdesigns1, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Colorful designs

DSC09270, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

DSC09269, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

DSC09271, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Ship Design

design02, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Ship Design with Explanation

design02 with explanation, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Mushroom House

Photos students have sent for mural layouts. They've gotten very creative. Each has different ideas.

S4300273, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

It's raining kids

S4300281, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Holy Trinity College Mural

Hello to Everyone working on the Holy Trinity College Mural in Hong Kong:

The mural pictures of the students working on the mural that Elizabeth posted show the true spirit of kids having a great time expressing their creative talents. I am sure that the mural that they create together will give them a stong sense of pride for years to come.

I am looking forward to seeing the mural for myself when I come to Hong Kong to start work in September. I am also looking forward to dining at my favorite vegetarian restaurant. If I am lucky I will remember how to order in Cantonese! I have been practicing simple phrases in Cantonese, but I am still slow at remembering what to say when. I think that Cantonese is a very difficult language to learn, but a colorful one to try and listen to. I envy Kong for being able to speak and write both in Chinese and English. Cantonese is his mother tongue.

Cheers to all - Martie

First Steps

This was our first session of concerted activity with the students at Holy Trinity College in Shek Kip Mei in Kowloon.

They took turns drawing and cleaning/painting the wall. Fun was had by all, and it was a great start to the project. We'll be going full-throttle on the mural later in June; until then, the girls have several weeks to work on their layout and ideas.

girls and blue wall, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

After cleaning the wall, students painted it with gel medium and water, to prime the surface for the mural next month.

They used rollers and paintbrushes.

Joel rolling blue

joel with roller, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

having fun, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Big tongue

tongue, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Joel on ladder

joel on ladder, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Learning to use a paint-roller

learning to roll, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

painting student, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Hiding behind a dai pai dong

hiding behind dai pai dong 2, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

symbol, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

A previous project by the Mural Society at the school

previous mural 1, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

previous mural 2, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Some students used their notebooks for reference

notebook reference, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

Drawing a handsome guy

handsome guy, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.

circular sea 2, originally uploaded by hkmuralsociety.