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Projects: Mural for The Old Byre Heritage Centre
Just Gorgeous • Old Byre Mural • Calgary Art in Nature
The Old Byre Heritage Centre commissioned this mural
in April 2004. A children's play area was being created (to give the
hoards of 'Balamory' tourists somewhere to go) and the walls needed cheering up
with some colour. I chose to depict Tobermory bay and a motley collection
of local wildlife to pan round the three sides of the building.
I did a rough sketch of what was going where and
then drew freehand onto the walls. I quickly realised that murals need to
look good both from a distance and close-up. Stage backdrops may be on a
similar scale, but are only view from afar, so I had to make sure that the
painting was detailed enough to be recognisable close-to.
The walls were bare brick to begin with. They
were treated with a sealant first then given a base coat of masonry paint.
I then did my bit with acrylic paints.
There were a couple of pillars jutting out from the
walls that I incorporated into the design. I think if you try to paint a
flat picture onto different levels, it's always going to look odd from most
angles and only how you intended it to look from a specific spot. I made
one of the pillars into Tobermory's distinctive clock tower and the other into a
lighthouse. The clock tower was nicely finished with a real working clock.
If you would like to see the mural, enjoy the play
area, visit the heritage centre or its tearoom, The Old Byre is a couple of
miles from Dervaig on the Isle of Mull.
Click here for map.
Find out more
about things to see and do on the Isle of Mull
Find accommodation on Mull
The first part of the mural was completed at the end
of May 2004. The rest of the work is in progress. This page will be
updated when there's more to see.
The First Wall
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| Blocking in
the colour |
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| A bit more
detail |
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| A local
character |
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| Finishing
touches |
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