About Me: My name is Meg Wallace and I am a graduate student in philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill. In my spare time, I paint and draw. Recently, I painted a mural for my friend and colleague's baby room (pictured above). It was such a fun project, fairly easy to do, and took only about a week, with help from several people from the department. Because that project was such a success, I've decided that it would be fun to do some free-lance mural painting around town. Below you'll find more information about how the process works, approximately how long it will take, approximately how much it will cost, and how to contact me.


The  Process for Alice in Wonderland:  The room began as a clean canvas--all white walls, no paint or wallpaper anywhere. I talked with the couple about what we had in mind, and what colors they were interested in using. We all agreed that we should use colors that would blend with the rest of the house, and luckily, they had paint left over from several rooms they had painted simple, solid colors. We also agreed that some murals become too wild and over-powering too quickly. You want a mural to be a nice, fun decoration, not something that takes over the room. To tame the picture, I thought it would be a good idea to 'frame' it. So we began by painting the bottom third of the wall a light yellow--a height of about three feet or so, nicely accommodating the height of the furniture. A thick strip of light blue was then painted, which was to be the background color of the mural, with a light yellow strip painted on top. Separating the yellow and blue, both above and below, we left about an inch or two of white to act as the 'frame.' After the base colors were laid down, I took a pencil and began sketching the mural. Below are links to photos of the process, with a brief description of what I did each day.

• Sketching the Mural
• Painting the Background
  
• Panting the Middle-ground
• Filling-in and Outlining
• Finished Project!

How I'll Get Started: If you would like me to paint a mural in your home, we would first meet and discuss what sort of thing you have in mind. I am happy to be accommodating about the subject matter of the mural--if you've seen pictures of the sort of thing you would like, or if you you have even just a vague idea of what you want, these will help me get a sense for what you are looking for. I will then sketch a few ideas out on paper, and run them by you to see what you like and what you do not. After we agree about the content of the mural, we can then discuss colors. It's best to work with colors that you have in your home, so that the room doesn't set itself too far apart from other rooms. However, as I said, I am willing to be accommodating, and since this is YOUR wall, I will ultimately defer to you and your preferences on any decision. Once we have decided on the content and colors, we can then discuss when is best for you for me to be painting in your home. During the summer, my schedule is fairly flexible. I can work morning, afternoon, or evening hours. Also, I will need to know how long you would want me to paint each day. Anywhere from 3-8 hours is fine by me--it will really depend on how big the project is, and when you would like to have it finished.

Once all of these details are taken care of, I will then begin to paint the walls basic background colors, and then sketch the mural out in pencil, and paint it in stages as I did for the Alice and Wonderland mural. I am more than willing to be somewhat flexible about the project--if at anytime you think that something isn't working for you, I will be happy to change things until you are satisfied. The important thing for me is that you get a mural that you are excited to look at and live with for quite a long while.


How Long it Will Take: How long it will take will of course depend on how big the project is. I don't recommend a mural larger than three walls, as they can quickly get out of hand. But for a moderately sized room, that has no paint on the walls before hand, it will take me approximately 1 week, start to finish, working 6-8 hours a day. 


How Much It Will Cost: I charge 15$ an hour, plus the cost of paints and any supplies (brushes, tape, etc.). However, price is negotiable, and will of course vary depending on the complexity of the project.


How to Contact Me: To commission a project, or to get more information, you may e-mail me at megw@email.unc.edu or leave a message on my cell at 919-619-6437. Also, I am willing to give references, if you should need them.

---