My Learning From Painting A Wall Mural For The FIRST TIME!

It has been an AMAZING experience painting a Wall Mural.. Ahh! Finally.. I told myself..
Let's do this..

BUT.. if you just dived into it, then you are sure to DROWN! Here is my experience so far with this.. and I hope you keep these things into mind.. when you plan your own!!

1. PREPARE the wall !!! Yes.. Don't just jump in.. prepare the wall, incase it has any cracks or moulds.. so that what your HARD work isn't short lived!!

2. THINK AND PLAN Planning is one of the most time consuming and crucial part of any composition and project that you take up! And its important that we spend enough time to figure out what it is that we are about to embark on! How BIG or SMALL.. What colors, what different shapes and sizes.. Think and Plan and think again! Trust me.. It will SAVE you so much time later!!!

3. Get the RIGHT materials. I used PEBEO studio Acrylics for this, which had been lying around for some time now, however I felt that I needed something better. I know Artist grade would be expensive, so I might explore something else like Brustro Acrylics or something. I am still not sure. But I know student grade won't be much helpful! Also make sure its maufacturing date isn't very old.. Another important thing is the BRUSH. If you are going for those detailed strokes, like I do, then you definitely need something which is pointy at the end and yet not long. I mean not like a dagger brush, but more like a flat brush with a point. Check out the image below!

3. TRIAL before the REAL thing. Since this is your first time.. Give time to understanding HOW this works.. you can even COPY the way some others have done this.. to understand what is more comfortable for you. Choose a wall, in your home, on which you can FREELY play on! You NEVER know.. you might discover something.. which you didn't know YOU had :)

4. For the FIRST time.. Don't choose a difficult subject I think this is something I did wrong.. I chose a very complex composition.. and although I am getting a hang of it (infact getting ADDICTED) I feel I could have chosen something more SIMPLE! But now that I have started it.. I will complete it NO MATTER WHAT! Check out the link to my time lapse video, on HOW I painted a PEONE on the wall.. :)

"Tools of Urban Sketching"

"WHAT are or should be your BASIC tools of Urban Sketching"?

I have really struggled with this question over the years. Experience and watching other artists has really helped get me sorted!

So check out the video below which shows exactly what I have and how I put it all together!

Then READ BELOW the list of materials.. and my two cents on this.

Urban Sketching -"What Have You Been Missing??"

It's time to know about Urban Sketching.

But first let's have a look at my latest EXPLORATION in Goa!

What is Urban Sketching and why so much emphasis is being laid on it.. May be the FIRST question that might come to your mind, if you are NEW to this concept.


However, this concept isn't new. It is far from that, but what is rather INTERESTING is that this small idea, which has been growing ever since one can think of, has only been expanding in various forms and sizes that it never goes out of fashion for Art creators.


It only brings a sense of fulfillment (if you know how to use it well) and the excitement of TRYING something NEW each time you do it!

Now.. this one email, would NOT be ENOUGH to exactly help you understand about it.. So I would be dividing this topic into various sub topics.. And if you have any questions.. Just write back to me!
I would love to hear from you :) 

FIRST let's understand what I am doing in the VIDEO above! (very important)

1. I am sketching/drawing and then painting a LIVE subject, which means I am observing whatever it is I want to paint (like the beach and hut here) and drawing it on paper. This is also called "Plein Air Painting".

2. WHAT IS URBAN SKETCHING? - "Urban sketching is reportage: drawings or paintings created on-site, as a spontaneous response to people, places or incidents. It is the act of placing oneself in a space, attempting to capture and interpret a particular moment in time" - very rightly quoted by Lynn Chapman.

3. WHY is so IMPORTANT? - Urban sketching is an observational drawing/painting for a subject. Drawing or Painting from a picture is easier than a LIVE subject. And it helps TRAIN our eyes to observe the perspectives, tones and colors, which are otherwise not seen in photographs.
It can actually help us grow in leaps and bounds.. if done regularly.

More tips/videos on this sub topic soon, I promise! :)

4. It is something very personal, because EACH one of us has a different perspective towards LIFE and the space around us. Each one of us has different experienes and choices.. so each one of us can capture it in different ways (if done sincerely)

5. It can be done INDOORS as well as OUTDOORS. The main idea is to capture the STORY. And ofcourse to find it too!

6. People call it Art Journaling as well, in the sense, when you are travelling to different places, you are trying to capture/journal your EXPERIENCE of that particular place, people or food for example. Which has also led to different forms and mediums being explored.

7. I am using The Black Sketchbook here and Metallic Deco Markers by Karin Markers.

Click here to find the one I am using here.

8. I use different mediums to paint and this is just ONE of them. The versatility if this concept makes it very lucrative for people to try!
You can find me trying different mediums on my Youtube channel as well and also find some FREE tutorials/videos to LEARN!

"The basic tools used by me in Urban Sketching" is the next topic of discussion and a very important one.. So keep a tab of my next mail :)