New Murals in Millbrae!
Thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Millbrae Library, the Millbrae Library is getting a makeover! One of the most exciting aspects of the project are three murals for the Children’s Room. Evans and Brown are the muralists working on this project and they were recently featured in The San Francisco Chronicle. I’m not a mural-expert, and I think the process of painting one is pretty fascinating.
How Do You Paint a Mural?
First, the muralists come up with concepts and designs, and figure out what will work well in the space. Then, they create a “maquette,” a scale model of the mural done in gouache. This is a maquette of one of the murals for the Millbrae Library
Children’s Room
Our murals feature local animals, particularly bugs.
Before the muralists begin painting, they transfer their design from the maquette to the wall in pencil, often using a projector. In the photo below, all the projecting is completed and the muralist is washing off some of the pencil on the canvas before painting begins – our murals are being painted in the muralists’ studio.
Then, after all that prep work, they’re ready to paint.
Once the painting of the murals is completed, they’ll bring the murals to the library to install on our walls.
Like murals? Want more murals?
You can:
- Teach your child about murals with Murals: Walls That Sing;
- Visit some with Large Art In Small Places: Discovering The California Mural Towns;
- Get some history with Michelangelo & The Pope's Ceiling;
- Ponder the lines between graffiti and fine art with Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo;
- Or, get super-DIY and paint your own with help from Painting Murals Step By Step and Creative Kids' Murals You Can Paint.
Photo credit: Evans and Brown
Author Bio:
Nicole Pasini is the Acting Branch Manager for the Millbrae Library. She is now looking for an excuse to paint a mural in her home.