Silhouette Mural

A few months ago I painted a mural for some friends in their home.  They had a bonus room above their garage that they wanted to make special for their kids to enjoy.  I met with the mom and we discussed ideas for the room.  She thought of a silhouette idea which I loved, and I suggested we add splashes of color throughout to make it more fun for the kids and she loved that idea!  I created a backyard scene with her four kids encorporated into it.  Her one son hanging from a tree, her oldest daughter reading a book, the youngest daughter swinging on a tree swing and the youngest boy pushing her, and last but not least, their family dog chasing a butterfly. 

It was a great experience painting this room and getting to know the kids while I painted.  They were so curious and inquisitive!  The silhouettes were trickier than I thought they were going to be which gave me a real challenge.  We literally shone their silhouettes on the wall to get their outline so that they could look as much like themselves as possible.  Between trying to figure out how to make a silhouette upside down hanging from a tree, to tracing moving toes, etc. it was a challenge.  I am pleased with how they look though despite all of the challenges. 

The silhouette was done in a less harsh way with a more natural color... not the typical black and white.  It took a couple of hours to pick out the two colors, believe it or not, but it was worth every minute of that because the result is great... not to harsh of a contrast, but yet not too little of a contrast and they have a nice warm tone to them.

 It took me about 60 hours total to complete the mural and I did it in 2 weeks.  That was alot to cram into a couple of weeks, but it was so satisfying to step back at the end and look at what I accomplished within a short amount of time.  A great experience overall!!