A vibrant, colourful painting of Newton Ferrers and the Yealm Estuary, painted on the Assembly Hall wall, with the students, in record time.
Painting under pressure
We only had two 60 minute sessions plus break time, lunchtime and some after-school time to complete this mural before a Grand Unveiling at 3pm on the second day.
First steps
To speed up the process, I pre-made a paper template of the main landscape and cardboard mock-ups of the landmarks. Using a rough draft I’d drawn on paper as a guide, the students secured both to the wall and chalked around their outlines.
Base coat
At break time I sloshed on two coats of green paint then two of white for the buildings. The school’s talented Art Lead drew the boats by hand.
We used POSCA pens to add colourful details which would have been tricky with a paintbrush and slow to dry.
Giving a bold black outline to every element really brought the mural to life. A sharp outline ‘tidies up’ the handiwork of even the most spirited artist so no part of the painting was off limits to the students. It was truly a team effort.
Celebrity collaboration
To add a ‘Changing Rooms’ style sense of panic while transforming this space I introduced some Laurence LLewelyn-Bowen face masks. The students (aged 7-10) hadn’t the faintest idea about LLB or his smash hit TV series but they rose heroically to the challenge of creating great Art whilst hampered by cardboard cut-outs with small eye holes.
Huge thanks to the talented artists at Newton Ferrers Primary School – and to Mr Stephens and Mrs Jowsey for so warmly and enthusiastically supporting this project. I loved working with you all.
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