Artists transform homes from bland to brilliant

Your walls are scuffed and dirty, or maybe that neutral beige just doesn’t do it anymore. Wallpaper seems too traditional and slapping on a new coat of paint is simply boring. So why not have a mural painted on one or more walls of your home?

Having a mural painted is something you may have considered for a long time but simply never pursued because you didn’t know how to go about having one commissioned or you felt the cost would be out of your price range.

“A lot of times people call and they already have an idea of what they want because they have mulled it over in their minds for a long time,” said Karl Jahnke of Decorative Paintings by Karl in Crystal Lake.

What clients usually don’t know, however, is how to conceptualize the project. Relax. Muralists are doing something they love, namely art, but in a practical way that provides them a living.

Murals can be anything from a few words painted above a doorway to an elaborate scene taking up several walls. The only limit is your imagination, and of course, your wallet. If the latter is no object, then almost anything is possible.

Leslie Michaels of Elgin finds herself painting a fair amount of monograms on walls, as well as Bible or other inspirational verses. Painting a rainbow or accent striping is another way of adding a mural-like appearance to a room without spending a lot of money.

“Clients are almost apologetic, and I wish they wouldn’t be when they call because they have no idea of what it will cost,” Michaels said. “I always try to fit it into the client’s budget.”

Having a budget in mind when you contact a muralist is a good idea because this way the artist knows how large and detailed he or she can get with the project. Stating an initial budget will save time and effort because the artist won’t have to rework ideas and sketches into something simpler if the proposed design costs too much.

“It’s really about how detailed you want to get because that’s what drives up the cost,” Jahnke said.

Rates vary by each artist, so it’s typical to get quotes from several just like you would with a construction project. Jahnke has found that his murals typically start at about $200 and go up from there.

Wall condition is important and is an area where homeowners can help keep the cost down. It’s definitely a good idea to have a clean wall.

“If it (the wall) is not in bad shape, I may be able to cover it,” said Ken Markiewicz of Crayons Gone Wild in Naperville. If not, he tends to paint the wall with an eggshell color base before painting the actual mural.

Painting your own base color also helps keep down costs, as well as not being concerned what the base color is. If you’re not fussy, neither is the artist.

Every artist works slightly differently, but you can bet on one thing: an assessment of the space where the mural will be located. Don’t expect that you can convey your wishes through a phone call.

“I like to go directly to the room so I can see what my canvas is,” Markiewicz said. “I do a sketch of the room to show where the doors and windows are. The main thing is trying to see what they (the clients) are seeing.”

Jahnke likes when clients use what he calls source material such as a photos or other pieces of artwork as reference. For example, if a client wants a Tuscan mural in their dining room, he would like to see samples of what they would like to have in their home.

“It’s the best way to bridge the gap between what they want to do and what I conceptualize,” he said.

Michaels also likes to use reference material for her work and if the client doesn’t have something, she’ll find it.

“Whether it’s a whale or the Eiffel Tower, I like to have something that I can look at,” she said.

From this point, the process again differs according to each artist. Most will at least sketch out the mural for themselves. Some may submit that design to you, others may not, only giving you a conceptualization and an agreement.

Then comes the big day when the mural starts to take shape. The length of time it takes to complete the project again depends on its complexity. Simple jobs may take only a matter of hours, but expect most smaller ones to take one or two days. A really big production — one that spans several walls — can take several weeks or more, but most are completed within a week. Expect your muralist to sketch out the scene first, paint background, then methodically add details.

Unlike house painters who bring a whole cadre of materials with them and have massive setups, most likely you’ll hardly know you’re muralist is there beyond a drop cloth and the removal of furniture away from the area.

“I kind of pride myself on being as unobtrusive as possible,” Jahnke said. “I have my headphones on, I work, and no one knows I’m there.”

Most muralists use acrylic paints or a combination of acrylics and latex wall paint to complete their work. Oil paint is used rarely, and only for complex detail work. The green movement has even made inroads into the art world as Markiewicz indicated he often uses low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints to reduce the impact on the environment, particularly when clients indicate they have allergies or asthma.

Murals in children’s rooms are by far and away the most requested subjects, so virtually every local artist does them. Subjects can run the gamut from nursery scenes to psychedelic representations for teenagers, and everything in between.

“I get a lot of requests for Tinkerbell, but there are no real common themes” Jahnke said. “I also try not to exactly duplicate something I have done before.”

Creating a children’s mural, in fact, was the way in which Markiewicz began his business. When his daughter, Jamie, now 16, was young, Markiewicz decided to create a mural in her room instead of simply painting her walls. The experience clicked with him, so he shifted his focus from doing illustrations to creating murals, even going so far to incorporate a children’s theme in his logo and company name.

Markiewicz has taken this a step further in the past few years, volunteering with Chicago Cares every June to clean up local schools by helping to paint murals in building hallways. He also recently signed on with Make-a-Wish Foundation to donate his services in providing murals in bedrooms of critically-ill children.

“That’s one of the things that drives me — trying to help kids,” he said.

Aside from children’s murals, sports-themed murals, which are usually located in family rooms or basement recreation rooms, are also popular.

“I have done Wrigley Field multiple times,” Jahnke said.

Other popular locations for murals are dining rooms and bathrooms and sometimes kitchens. Jahnke noted that he often does monochromatic murals.

“This is time tested, something that works well, particularly above chair rails in dining rooms,” he said.

Although each artist has a specialty, they’ll tackle just about anything. Jahnke once quoted a job where the client wanted Godzilla and Mount Fuji painted in his living room. One of Markiewicz’s favorite projects is what he calls The Cowabunga Room, which featured cows in all sorts of different situations. Michaels once painted a mural of golfing monkeys.

“I find it challenging to do something I’ve never done before,” Michaels said.

After all, it’s art and that’s really what it’s all about.