A foliage ceiling mural - Part 1 - Inspiration and colour palette

A Foliage Ceiling Mural - Part 1 - Inspiration and Colour Palette

For our final project together, you will be learning how to create your own hand-painted wall mural. I'll be taking you through how I approached a recent wall mural project as a case study.

My Project

My client wanted a wall mural in a summer house set in the middle of woodland. The brief was to bring the outside in, and I felt particularly inspired by The Long Gallery at Parham House. It has similar beams to those in my project, and I love how the mural weaves through them. There is also the perfect balance of decorative pattern and negative space, which I want to carry through to the summer house.

Seeking Inspiration

When seeking inspiration for this project, I looked at the work of Oliver Messal in The Long Gallery at Parham House as well as the murals in Villa Medici.

As we have done with our previous projects, gather your inspirational references and create a mood board.

Think about:

• How do you want the room to feel?
• Are you creating a naturalistic or stylised look?
• What shapes or forms are you drawing from your inspiration?
• Can your references inform any compositional decisions?
• What colour palette will you use?

Colours I Will Be Using

In a mural, I tend to mix a lot of my colours - either as I'm going on the wall or beforehand in my palette - however it's still really important to have your selection of core colours.

For my project, I'll be using:

• A wall wash in Setting Plaster, Farrow & Ball
• Beverly, Farrow & Ball
• Card Room Green, Farrow & Ball
• Bancha, Farrow & Ball
• Raw Umber
• Raw Sienna
• Burnt Sienna

Further Reading

The Long Gallery in Parham House, East Sussex

Artist and Set Designer Oliver Messel

Villa Medici, Rome

Interior designer Isabella Worlsey