Murals
(Walls or Windows)
This was a friend’s “town home”‘s dining room. Her family live on a ranch in the OK Panhandle relatively near to a small city where they have the house. Outside their ranch house, they see this mesa–it’s a nice 10 min walk to get to its base. I sketched it there and took lots of photos. Then went and stayed in the town house to draw and paint it. It took a good week to complete it. I stayed at their ranch house for the first several days then moved into town to stay at the town house (along with her grown daughter who lives there).
Prices vary depending on how much of a wall/window will be covered (e.g. Noah’s Ark vs. Garden trellis & fence, below), how many walls the painting will take (1, 2, or all 4, for example), and so on.
Generally, simple, less-detailed, one-wall murals may start at $250. Four walls, painted from ceiling to floor, with a lot of detail can start at $2,000. All supplies needed (paint, brushes, etc.) that I don’t have in my stock will be added to the price at the end. Prices will be provided once I have an idea of what you want, and I show you a sample drawing of the completed project. Prices can be discussed and altered at that point, with discussion of what items can be simplified, added or removed. Generally two appointments will be needed at the location of the mural for me to see the room (initial appointment) and then to show you where items will be painted (second appointment), with the start-date of the actual painting process at some time after the 2nd appointment.
Estimated start and completion times will be provided; typically, murals may take anywhere from three days to a month, or longer depending on the mural itself. Every effort will be made to be accurate within three days. Preferred work times are between 11am to 5/6pm daily, with the actual schedule being set up during the consultation phase. (The “work day” may or may not be strictly 11am to 5/6pm. When I buy supplies or have some research to do, this will be done within that time frame, but I may not be at the mural’s location.)
I prefer to work from start to finish on one mural at a time, enabling me to focus and provide the highest-quality finished product. I will finish painting each one before starting the next (although I may work on smaller paintings/projects concurrently).
Half of final price will be required on the first day of painting, with the other half on the last day of painting, supplies needed during project will be added to the last half of the amount due. I will keep you informed of increasing costs as I go along, if there are any.
I prefer to work from start to finish on one mural at a time, enabling me to focus and provide the highest-quality finished product. I will finish painting each one before starting the next (although I may work on smaller paintings concurrently).
Life.Church, Fort Worth Campus’ foyer
Decorated every year along the lines of a movie for a sermon series “At the Movies.” This is the year we did Star Wars. I painted the two moons and desert cliffs.
Mike’s Room
Fort worth, texas
Our son, Mike was 3½ years old when I had decided to paint a mural on his wall (see above). I started with the palm trees since we had a “toy hammock.” Then I figured it was his room, so I asked what he wanted on his walls. He asked for one lion, than another, then a zebra, and so forth. From the start, he kept asking for a Christmas tree and I kept thinking I didn’t want a very “seasonal” thing to be on the wall, but finally I “got” it. It’s his room! If he wants a Christmas tree, then he can have one! So there was no “theme” but I gave the child what he wanted.
Oh, and if you see the brown smudges on the Christmas tree… I left my palette on the shelves next to his bed at nap-time. At first I wasn’t happy with it, but then I thought, it’s HIS room, if he wanted to put his mark on it, so be it. So I never “corrected” it.
![hoo007037](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007037.jpg?resize=575%2C564&ssl=1)
![hoo007038](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007038.jpg?resize=288%2C373&ssl=1)
Friend’s Daughter’s Room
Burleson, Texas
A friend wanted a mural (above) in one of her daughter’s room and asked if I would paint it. As I recall I was given fairly free rein. I chose another picket fence with ivy, similar to the church’s nursery (which I had done before). I painted an arbor in the corner in such a way that while standing diagonally from it, the corner would “disappear” (to a certain degree).
The friend has since moved from this house, and I wonder if the new owners liked the mural and kept it.
![hoo007029](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007029.jpg?resize=346%2C267&ssl=1)
![hoo007030](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007030.jpg?resize=348%2C249&ssl=1)
![hoo007032](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007032.jpg?resize=385%2C265&ssl=1)
Church Nursery
fort worth, texas
Our former church, The Church in Cityview, was refreshing their Bed Babies room (see photos, above, this column) and asked me to paint it. It was painted a pale yellow on all four walls. I bought one actual fence-picket and had it cut down to the height I wanted, then traced the picket on the wall at intervals. Then added stencils (ivy and some of the animals) as well as my own free hand artwork. I’ve heard from the mothers that some babies were more interested in the walls than nursing or eating.
Friend’s Daughter’s First Nursery
benbrook, texas
This sweet new mother loves lions and that was her primary theme for her son’s nursery, along with a Noah’s Ark theme (above, this column). There is a llama in the left window, and the family’s black, miniature poodle in the right window, both per her request.
I started this mural just after he was born and he turned 3 this year and from all accounts loves his mural.
![hoo007033](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007033.jpg?resize=340%2C266&ssl=1)
![hoo007035](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007035.jpg?resize=275%2C357&ssl=1)
![hoo007034](https://i0.wp.com/www.donnac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hoo007034.jpg?resize=290%2C285&ssl=1)
Children’s Pastor’s Office
fort worth, tx
Our former church’s Children’s Pastor was going on vacation for a week and I was asked by the office staff to paint a mural in his office. I chose Noah’s Ark and painted it on the one wall facing the door that members would be entering. I overlapped just a little bit on the interior office door’s corner wall with the giraffe’s tail. I chose to put the theme at the time that the animals have been released from the Ark, and while Noah and his family (wife, 3 sons, and their wives) were sacrificing their thanks to God for bringing them safely thru the Flood. Overall, I painted the rainbow, God’s Promise that He would not destroy the Earth by Flood. Sorry for the colors not coming out well; pictures were taken with an old digital camera.
Current Project ~ Church Nursery
fort worth, texas
This is my current project, it’s 63′ of mural, broken into 7 panels presenting the 7 Days of Creation.
(See four photos in columns 1 & 2, left, lowest.) The far left upper photo is Day 2, below that is Day 3—-these two are completed. I’ve got the background about done on Day 5 (column 2, upper photo–need to do wave action & highlights) and starting on the background on Day 6 (left side of same photo as Day 5). The video (2nd column, low) shows all 3 walls with all 7 panels.
My plan is to finish the backgrounds of Day 5 & 6, work on Day 4 (3 spheres with a few sprinkled stars–fairly easy & shouldn’t take too long), and finish up Day 1 (large circle divided into white and black). Then get the animals put in on Days 5 & 6 and refresh original wall color in the margins. That will make Walls 1 & 2 totally done. After that, remove the plastic and all the paraphernalia out of the main area room. (During all this, the Nursery is still being used.) Then get to Wall 3, Day 7, preparing the floor, etc. and get the background done, add the animals, and be done. Wall 3 has no original paint color to see when it’s done.
It’s been a BIG project and has been interrupted with my own health issues (a cold the end of January & then an accident [April 16th] which has taken a whole 8 weeks to recover), but I hope to be done within the next month. Life does happen and we all have to roll with it, no matter how I feel about it.
I will update as this project continues…