School Mural Project at Trafalgar Junior School using Silicate Mineral Paint on Exterior Wall.

Trafalgar Junior School Exterior Mural Plan

Art Journal June 2011 by Jenny Meehan

Keim Mineral Paints Ltd have been very supportive of this project, which is most encouraging to me as it is a labour of love for sure.  I am preparing some educational materials which the Art co-ordinator at the school is going to use.  This  is a process I’m enjoying  very much as it brings me back to my past times as a teacher, though  it is much more enjoyable to just be concerned with a subject I feel passionate about!

I’m going to let the children into the planning process, and also provide some resources on colour theory (Itten).  For me the interest of this project has been a more analytical approach than I normally take with my painting.  Normally the selection of colours is based on emotions and I will be the first to say that I have only just begun to learn about colour.   I hope it will always be this way.  It has been great experience for me  with this project, to rather carefully and methodically balance one colour against another.  It is more design than anything else, but still, it’s good to do things differently from time to time.  I would like to paint a more spontaneous and process driven mural though, and compare the experiences.

I hope that the children will learn to think about colours and tones a bit more in their painting, and also get more of a conscious  awareness of how they interact with eachother.  It’s not the be all and end all of course, I do believe colour should come pretty much from inside the heart, but it does no harm, and it is interesting, to think about and notice certain things.   Looking at a painting like “Composition 1928” by Mondrian is a lot more interesting when you start to think more specifically about formalities!  It isn’t very interesting when you don’t.

I’m just putting some stuff together about different types of paint and how they are made, and also types of pigment.  I would like to do a lot more than I have time to right now.  I need to start sorting out some materials for the Eco Co-ordinator next, so I’m moving onto that this coming week.  We will be painting on Tuesday if the weather is OK, let’s hope so.

It’s all pretty grey right now.