Hiring an Artist/Muralist

Okay, you have the perfect idea for your wall and are ready to have it painted. The only problem? Painting isn't your cup of tea. What do you do? Hire an Artist or a Muralist!
Sounds easy right? Well, it is if you keep a few important things in mind.

First of all, you want to hire an Artist who you feel comfortable with. You may be leaving them to work in your home or office unsupervised. Even if you are in the same building with them, you want to feel safe and secure, just like anyone else you hire to do work. These are the two most obvious things to know, but what may not be so obvious is that you want to be comfortable talking with the Artist, since you want your artwork to be what you envision.

An Artist/Muralist, who is gifted with the ability to do custom work for clients, can have simple conversations with the client and determine exactly what they are looking for even when the client is not sure how to verbalize their idea. A good Artist will also not make you feel uncomfortable because you do not know art terminology or know how to explain what you are looking for.

I have sat down with a client who told me they were looking for one thing, but by the end of the conversation they wanted something totally different. How did they end up changing their mind? Well, I believe they only wanted the first idea because they could describe it easily. I started with asking them why the wanted the mural. How did they want this placed in the room? Would it take up a whole wall or just part? If this is to be educational for their child, what colors is he attracted to? When we finished up the conversation, we had a fairly solid idea for a mural and they wanted to see a proposed drawing.

An Artist/Muralist should be more than willing to produce sketches for a particular job, but many require a deposit before creating these drawings. If you cannot imagine what a project will look like, paying for the sketches is a great idea. It’s cheaper than painting over a completed mural that you do not like, and it is easy to have the Artist make small changes before they paint the mural onto the wall.

Another item you need to keep in mind when hiring an Artist is their access. They need to have a clean area, free from furniture and clutter to work in, and the floors need to be cleaned prior to their arrival, as this helps keep dirt and fuzz from sticking to wet paint. They also need to have sufficient time to paint the mural, so ask them what a typical workday is and try to accommodate this. If they have to work shorter days, they will probably charge more because of additional gas and setup time. If they prefer longer days, they are trying to get out of your way faster. The sooner they get out of your way, the sooner you can move furniture back in and enjoy the artwork.

Remember that you want to hire an Artist who you feel will be able to create your perfect piece of artwork, have fun and enjoy the simple process! It is worth it.

If you are looking for an Artist or Muralist, please check out my website at www.rbrdesigns.net

Colors and their effects

Have you ever walked into a room and felt completely at ease? Or have you walked into a room and felt agitated and did not know what made you feel that way? It was most likely the colors used in the room.

Colors interact with our brains in amazing ways. People use these colors to affect your mood, your reactions and even your body. Marketers use it in ads and in restaurants. Ever wonder why that famous hamburger chain uses red and yellow in everything they do?

Below is a basic list of colors and their effects to our body and mind. What colors make us a feel is a key when picking colors for any given room. It is one thing I do help my clients with. I make sure to know who is in the room and what the client wants the room to make them feel like.

Red-Represents Energy, Power and Determination. Red is a stimulant! It stimulates the metabolism and therefore appetite (remember the hamburger chain) and raises blood pressure. It can make some people more aggressive.

Brown-Represents Stability, Rooted in the Earth, Masculine. This is a favorite among many men. It gives a feeling of strength without the aggression associated with red.

Orange-Represents Happiness and Warmth. Orange increases oxygen supply and stimulates the mind and appetite.

Yellow-Represents Joy and Energy. Yellow makes us want to get up and start moving. It makes us feel warmer. Some believe that people loose their temper easier in a yellow room.

Green-Represents Harmony, Grown and Stability. This is the most restful to the human eye.

Blue-Represents Depth, Wisdom and Loyalty. Blue is known to slow metabolism and calms the body and mind. People are shown to be more productive in a blue room and body builders have shown to lift heavier weights in a blue gym.

Purple-Represents Power, Luxury, Ambition and Magic. Purple is the preferred color by more than 75% of preadolescent children by some studies.

White-Represents Goodness, Innocence and Perfection. However, too much white can make a room feel cold and intimidating. Many people who like the modern decorating style overcome this cold and intimidating feeling by introducing white in many different textures. Mixing soft items with firmer items gives a contrast.

Black-Represents Power, Evil but also Formality. Black can be seen as negative in many instances. Black is also harder on the eye because it tricks the eye. Black can make people look thinner, but text on a black background can be more difficult to read. To make sure text is easy to read make sure to pair the black (bold) color with a softer color (pastels). This helps the eye by not looking at two bold colors competing, or by using a dark gray instead of black.

If you have specific color questions, please feel free to ask or post your own comments or experiences.

Art terms are not to be feared

Even though you do not have to know a long list of art terminology in order to appreciate art, it still may help us. It is surprising where you will encounter these terms and the correct definition could be helpful. I have used definitions from "The Collection Shop". Their complete list of definitions can be found at www.thecollectionshop.com/art_terimology.asp

Abstract-A 20th century style of painting in which nonrepresentational lines, colors, shapes and forms replace accurate visual depiction of objects, landscape and figures. The subjects were often stylized, blurred, repeated or broken down into basic forms so that it becomes unrecognizable. Intangible subjects such as thoughts, emotions and time are often expressed in abstract art form.

Impressionism-An art movement founded in France in the last third of the 19th century. The artist's vision was intensely centered on light and the ways it transforms the visible world. This style of painting is characterized by short brush strokes of bright colors used to recreate visual impressions of the subject and to capture the light, climate and atmosphere of the subject at a specific moment in time.

Realism-Any art in which the goal is to portray forms in the natural world in a highly representational manner. Specifically, an art style of the mid 19th century, which fostered the idea that everyday people and events are worthy subjects for important art.

These three terms are the ones I hear most often on TV and in the media. Hopefully, this will given you a better idea of what they are referring to when they use these terms.
Until next time, have a Happy Week!

It's everywhere

Art is everywhere. It is all around us from the time we wake up in the morning until the time we close our eyes at night. The sunrise and wind blowing in the trees are art. The clothes we wear are art. The houses and buildings we go into are art. And finally, all of the pictures, paintings and drawings we have in our homes, offices and museums are art.

How does art make you feel? Do you feel the artwork is just to fill space on the wall? This could be your first thought, but let's think about it further...do you have a room that makes you feel calm and relaxed when you go into it? Take a look around, the colors of the room are probably soothing to you. They are not vibrant colors like RED! or YELLOW! Maybe the colors are blue or green. Are there pictures or paintings on the walls? Are they of nature? Many people feel relaxed by looking at landscapes of their favorite places. A visual image (the artwork) may bring back happy memories of your experiences there. Maybe it brings back the smell of the pine trees or the breeze from the ocean. Maybe it's the memory of laughter. Art can make us feel a wide variety of emotions and it strikes each of us differently.

I love to share my thoughts about art and help people understand that art is a feeling. It's an emotion. It's not a long list of terms that you have to understand and use in order to discuss art. Art is for everyone as it is something we all enjoy and appreciate.

I plan to use this blog to help bring art to the forefront of peoples' minds and help with several of the art terms we hear. Art is something we should all be comfortable with, so please let me know if you have a question I can help with.