Building a Mural - Part 1

The last couple of entries have been about drawing figures without a model and then putting those figures into a convincing space. I would like to share know how an artist (me) uses that knowledge to develop a picture from idea to concept sketch and on to finished painting.

Last year I was commissioned by a community in Calgary to paint a mural on the theme of world peace. My idea was to place the traditional figure of Peace - a winged woman with a palm branch- into a modern setting. Here are the steps I went through to get an approved sketch.

The first step is to just draw small quick sketches. Things start off slow but soon the pencil flows a little easier.




From the initial sketches I picked a couple and developed them into a slightly more finished sketch.





The client liked the idea of the peace figure coming down to meet the people. I developed the composition and added a range of ethnicities:


This is the final step in the development of the image. In the next entry I will show how I moved from this sketch to final colour study and readiness to paint.