Chris Westall - Murals & Musings

The Fontana dell'Ovato

2011-12-14T23:31:00.004Z

Finished the mural yesterday - client is very happy and now I have to get back to some mundane decorating back at home where I have a hallway to re-decorate before Christmas.

The Fontana dell'Ovato

2011-12-09T21:06:00.007Z

Day five finished on the mural - a couple of days left to go for completion (I hope).
Lots more colour added now - still lots of work to do on the oval fountain - avoiding the temptation to go into too much detail.

The Fontana dell'Ovato

2011-12-08T21:07:00.005Z

Here are some photographs of the halfway stage of a mural I am currently working on.
It is an interpretation of the The Fontana dell'Ovato ("Oval Fountain") which can be seen at Villa d'Este, Tivoli near Rome in Italy.

At this stage I have very loosely painted in the design in raw umber and then I am gradually building up the washes of colour. I intend for the finished piece to be more suggested rather than get bogged down in too much detail.

Hole in the Wall

2011-09-13T14:27:00.007+01:00

It has been a long time since I have painted one of these trompe l'oeils - the water leaking out of the brickwork was always a favourite quirk of mine.

I painted this as part of an advertising campaign for the Little Darwins Nursery in Rettendon, Essex. The mural itself can be seen on the Station Approach road in Wickford, Essex.

This was completed in just over four hours as I was working quickly to try and beat the changing weather. And all done without the use of a stencil (in case you are looking in Banksy). :-)

Pompeian Mural

2011-08-23T19:18:00.005+01:00

Just finished painting a Pompeian themed mural for a lounge in Hockley, Essex.

I spent three days painting the fresco as it may have looked over 2000 years ago and then spent a couple of days adding the cracks and the discolouring. The finished piece was then giving a couple of coats of flat acrylic varnish to help prevent any real damage.

Orange Tree Video

2011-06-04T18:22:00.002+01:00

Finally finished editing the footage for my Orange Tree video. Hope you like it.

Orange Tree

2011-05-31T08:40:00.005+01:00

Orange Tree canvas has been finished and the painting process has been filmed ready for editing.

Unfortunately it has been a while since I have last edited and back then I used a wonderful program called iMovie HD on my old Mac. Our new Mac has iMovie 09 installed on it and and does not make any sense to me whatsoever and judging by all the forums I am not the only one who is frustrated by this.

iMovie HD was close to perfect and Apple decided it would be a great idea to scrap it completely and re-build a new editing suite from scratch. A bit like trying to improve the wheel by giving it right-angles.

I will get the YouTube video done - although it may take me a little longer than anticipated as we need to rebuild the old Mac and re-install the software (including iMovie HD)

YouTube

2011-05-26T21:44:00.005+01:00

It has been about 2 years since I last did a YouTube video so it is long overdue for me to make another.
I am currently halfway through an orange tree trompe l'oeil which I hope to complete tomorrow. Then it will be the simple task of editing all the footage together and uploading it to YouTube.

This piece is also being painted onto a canvas so if anyone is interested I may be selling it at some point.

Roman Ruins Mural

2011-04-10T00:07:00.009+01:00

I have been busy up in Banchory, Scotland over the last couple of weeks painting a 22ft high mural of a Roman ruin.

The mural was painted on the main wall in a private indoor swimming pool - unfortunately, due to the time spent on painting the mural, I was unable to do any sight-seeing. I do hope to be working up there again and I will certainly make sure I allow myself a bit of free time.

Work in Progress

2011-02-17T14:27:00.005Z

Here are a couple more photos of the two commissions I am currently working on.
Finally got some colour on them today. The blue doors on the Provencial window will be louvered and the lavender will be coloured lavender - I just like to base it out with green first.

Provencale Panel

2011-02-15T19:19:00.006Z

This is the other commission I am currently working on in my studio at the moment.
It has been painted onto 9mm MDF that I have then cut to shape.
So far I have planned out the basic window shape and the Provencial landscape in a monotone and will gradually build up the colours as I progress.

The finished piece will be used for a exhibition stand by a company that specialises in French style home accessories & gifts.

School Mural

2011-02-14T16:18:00.007Z

Haven't had much painting time of late but managed to get some done on the school window panels today.
I have now fleshed out the tones a bit more. The paints I am using are Raw Umber and white with a Magnolia base...! Yes, I did say Magnolia :-)

School Mural

2011-02-10T10:54:00.007Z

It has been quite a few weeks (months even) since I posted last. Consider my wrists slapped :-)

I am working on some panels in my studio at the moment. Two of the panels are for a couple of windows in a school in South London. When the school was extended these two windows had to be blocked in so with the panels I am aiming to re-create the lost view.
It looks a little bland at the moment whilst I plan everything out - lots of roof tops interspersed with foliage and some wildlife. I have just recently finished a Peter Pan theme mural so I have been painting lots of rooftops of late :-)

The other panel is for an exhibition stand and will be a Provencal window complete with lavender fields. Once I have planned something out I will post up some pics.

Monument Valley Mural Glow-in-the-dark

2010-10-12T21:31:00.002+01:00

As promised I managed to take a couple of photos of the mural in the dark to show the effect with the glow-in-the-dark paint.

The silhouette effect of the monoliths works really well and was worth the extra effort in masking off all the areas I didn't want splattered with glow paint.

Monument Valley Mural - Finished

2010-10-11T09:52:00.007+01:00

It has taken a bit longer than expected but the mural is now finally finished.

The ceiling has glow-in-the-dark stars, galaxies & comets and then comes down to the horizon so, when the lights are off, the rocky monoliths form striking silhouettes.
Unfortunately my mobile phone's camera cannot capture this and I cannot find my other (proper) camera at the moment. I need to mount the camera on a tripod and set a long exposure in order to capture the glow effect. It does look stunning but for the time being you will just have to take my word for it :)

Monument Valley Mural

2010-10-02T15:56:00.010+01:00

Slowly getting there with this one. Gradually building up the rocky forms in a monotone way with a little white. Also starting picking out the stars in Titanium White - still got quite a bit of work to do.

Monument Valley Mural

2010-09-30T23:02:00.006+01:00

Gradually building up the night sky - this is the really messy part as I am building up the effects using a nail brush to splatter the paint. Most of the paint ends up on me but that's a small price to pay.

Monument Valley

2010-09-23T23:36:00.004+01:00

I have recently started work on a mural depicting Monument Valley at night. I am painting all four walls and the ceiling in a child's bedroom - the ceiling has been painted a deep purple and this will be the backdrop to some swirling galaxies, stars and comets which I will continue down the walls.

What started as as simple idea has now become a bit more involved - my plan is to also used my glow-in-the-dark paints to give as close an authentic night sky effect as I can. Hopefully it will not disappoint.

Medusa Doors

2010-08-17T22:58:00.005+01:00

I painted these two cupboard doors for the bathroom in which I painted the Roman fresco a couple of weeks ago. The Medusa motif was chosen to reflect the bathroom tiles with the Greek key pattern. Once again I aged and cracked the design to match the first mural.

Butterfly Window

2010-08-14T20:31:00.003+01:00

Here is a photo of a quick mural I painted a few days ago. It was painted as a surprise for a girl who loves butterflies, hearts, pinks & purples. I just needed to combine all these elements to make sure she was happy.

I completed the mural in one very long day - luckily I was working only a mile up the road so didn't mind working the long hours.

Desert Mural - Day 5

2010-08-08T11:51:00.007+01:00

Finished the mural late yesterday evening. It was just as well that I finished late as the M25 was completely clogged during the afternoon due to the closure of the QE2 Bridge amongst other problems. By the time I drove home the road was nice & clear - even through all the roadworks :)

I painted the glow-in-the-dark stars yesterday. Because the ceiling had been painted blue I first painted the stars in white acrylic and then painted the glow paint on top. this will help the paints to glow more effectively.
The varnishing took me much longer than anticipated. This was due to the fact that I have painted the mural on top of a textured wallpaper so the varnish took a lot more working in.

The clients were very happy with the finished result and no doubt look forward to getting their room back :)

Desert Mural - Day 4

2010-08-05T22:21:00.005+01:00

Just about there now. Finished off the pyramids today and the chap riding the camel.
Just the glow-in-the-dark stars to add and a couple of coats of varnish - long day tomorrow.

Desert Mural - Day 3

2010-08-04T22:05:00.004+01:00

Just worked on the two desert palm trees today - nice to get some green into the mural.
Back onto the pyramids and camel tomorrow - and I have the moon to add as well.

Desert Mural - Day 2

2010-08-03T22:19:00.006+01:00

2nd day into my desert theme mural. Now I have some pyramids and some colour at last. I am sketching the bulk of this mural using the brush & paint rather than drawing it all out first.

Desert Mural

2010-08-02T20:08:00.003+01:00

I am currently working on a desert theme mural. As with the tropical island mural I painted at the end of last year, I have started with a blue base and have sketched out the mural using Raw Umber. Once I have fleshed out the design out in I will gradually introduce the colours.

Roman Fresco

2010-07-24T15:43:00.010+01:00

I finished my Roman Fresco mural yesterday. It is a reproduction of a fresco found in The Villa of Agrippa Postumus in a settlement on the southern slopes of Mount Vesuvius, north of Pompeii.

As usual my favourite part of the work was adding the cracks and aging effects. I was also pleased that I managed to paint this within the four day window that I allowed myself - all my speed painting on 'DIY SOS' and '60 Minute Makeover' is paying off : )

DIY SOS

2010-07-23T20:26:00.009+01:00

It has finally appeared on the TV after such a long wait and it proved beyond reasonable doubt that I can dance as well as paint :)

The trompe l'oeil mural is a generic view of Provence with my favourite louver shutters (& a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape).

The week before I was filmed for this show I did a trial run of the mural at home just to make sure I could do it within the time frame. I also filmed myself painting the trial mural as well and the video can be seen on my website and YouTube page (just follow the links on the left).

It doesn't seem possible that this was filmed 14 months ago. Not bad for two days work though - although they were very long days !

Roman Fresco

2010-07-22T22:41:00.002+01:00

I am now three days into my Roman fresco mural.

After building up the tones in mono I have now added some colour - next I will give it an aged finish.

Roman Fresco

2010-07-20T21:27:00.004+01:00

Here is a photo of a project that I am currently one day into. It will be the recreation of an aged Roman fresco - complete with some subtle cracks and pits on the surface.

It is being painted in a large bathroom on the wall above the bath - as usual I start of fairly monotone before gradually adding the colour. The look of the fresco has a very fluid feel as it would have originally been painted very quickly (before the plaster had gone off).

DIY SOS

2010-07-13T13:06:00.006+01:00

It has taken a while for this one to appear on our screens (14 months to be precise) but the DIY SOS show I was involved with up in sunny Norfolk in May last year will be on BBC1 on Friday 23rd July at 7:30pm.

I will of course post up some photos once the show has aired.

Our Mum

2010-07-01T11:42:00.007+01:00

We were finally able to say our goodbyes to mum yesterday. I am sure that she would have approved of the send-off we gave her - and may have even laughed at some of the jokes in my eulogy to her.

I know in my heart that she would have loved my short reading from her favourite childhood book, 'The Wind in the Willows'.

My brother Graham's eulogy to her was also very moving and recalled aspects of Mum's life and her larger-than-life personality.

The service was conducted by Reverend Stephen Robertson of St. Margaret's Church, Downham, Essex and Mum's ashes are to be interred here in with my father and brother.

It was wonderful to meet up with the all the extended family again, despite the sadness of the occasion. It was also heartening to realise just how much mum was loved by all.

We all love and miss you Mum.

x x

Trudi Alice Westall

2010-05-29T21:16:00.013+01:00

Sadly I lost my dear Mum today after a short illness. My sister, brother & myself had prepared ourselves for the worst and have been at her bedside over the last week.

Mum was born in Wickford, Essex on 1st August 1928 - the youngest of four children. During the 2nd World War she worked as a Land Girl on a local farm. It was after the war when she was working for Bata Shoe Company in Laindon, Essex where she met my father Eddie who, back then, was her manager.

They married in 1949 and had four children of which I was the youngest born in 1970. We tragically lost my brother David in 1974 and three years later we lost our father. Mum had to carry on - I was only seven years old and we also had a family business with two shoe shops in Wickford & Maldon Essex named 'Paul David Shoes' (named in memory of my brother David).
Mum never re-married but did have a long-term partner, Fred, who sadly passed away a few years ago.

In 1994 mum suffered a severe brain hemorrhage and had to undergo a life saving operation. She was unresponsive for weeks afterwards and had to slowly learn to walk and speak again. But she did amaze us by her miraculous recovery and one year later she was able to attend my wedding.

Mum has five grandchildren in all, two of them supplied by my wife & myself, and this month her first great grandchild was born, a little girl called Madison (this also makes me a great uncle). Ironically the day she was to see Madison for the first time was the day she was admitted to hospital just over a week ago.

Mum was an intensely loving person, sometimes very demanding and stubborn (as older people can be) but above all she was very loving and that is how we will remember her.

We miss you mum & will always love you.

xx

Moroccan Mural

2010-05-20T22:12:00.004+01:00

I have finished my Moroccan style mural and just in time as the weather is beginning to really hot up and a south-facing conservatory is the last place I want to be working in : )

It also feels as if I have painted miles and miles of the mosaic effect - I am delighted with the finished effect of the aged mosaic but I am in no great rush to paint another right now - I don't even want to estimate how many little blue squares I have painted : )

The finished mural has been protected with two coats of a flat acrylic varnish. This process is always unnerving for me even though I have been doing it for years. The varnish takes on a milky appearance when it is applied and slightly obscures the mural - it then dries completely clear and with a fantastic matt surface which has little or no light reflection.

Moroccan Theme

2010-05-16T15:02:00.003+01:00

Here is another photo of the mural I am currently working on. This shows the aged mosaic effect which I am painting around the entire room.

Moroccan theme

2010-05-13T22:27:00.009+01:00

I am working on a Moroccan theme mural for a conservatory at the moment. Luckily the sun is mainly behind the clouds at the moment as the conservatory is south facing. It should feel authentically Moroccan in the height of the summer.

I am having fun doing my trademark crumbling effects.

The Chrysalis Collection

2010-03-29T22:27:00.005+01:00

The auction of the 51 celebrity butterfly paintings on eBay has now finished and has been a great success, raising £8,082 for Keech Hospice Care.
My little effort went for £198 in the end so a big thank-you goes out to everyone who bid. I'd love to hear from the bidder who won my butterfly.

The top seller was the Coldplay picture for £1,260. This was followed by Elaine Paige's butterfly at £770, Katherine Jenkins at £722 and Rupert Grint at £560.

YouTube

2010-02-28T20:01:00.004Z

As I write this my Venetian Window mural video on YouTube has now had just over 10,000 hits and my channel has 48 subscribers.

I am long overdue with regards to putting another video together - I have an idea for a canvas I would like to paint and it may be fun to film the process as well. All I need now is to find the time : )

The Chrysalis Collection

2010-02-18T20:03:00.005Z

You may remember that I was asked to paint a picture of a butterfly to be auctioned on behalf of the Keech Cottage Children's Hospice.
Lots of famous celebrities have also been asked to paint such a piece and the group of paintings will be on display at the Stockwood Discovery Centre in Luton from 1st - 29th March. The paintings will then be auctioned on eBay between the 19th-28th March.

Please follow this link for more details - The Chrysalis Collection

Amongst the many celebrities who have produced a painting are Nick Knowles & Billy Byrne, Gail Porter, Martin Kemp, Noddy Holder, Julian Clary and Coldplay. My name also made the list which was an honor (not to mention a shock).

Sky Ceiling

2010-02-14T15:11:00.006Z

I have been busy working on a painted sky ceiling in the heart of Oliver Cromwell country near Huntingdon.
The property dates back to Cromwell's time and it is rumoured that he may have even spent a night there.

As you can see from the photo I have been working from a scaffold tower to paint the ceiling on which I stand on as opposed to laying down. Everyone assumes that such murals are painted laying down.
In my youth I did paint my first ceiling in that manner but found it to be too restricting on the arm movement and there was also the problem that any paint drips would end up in your eyes or up your nose - I would not recommend it - even Michelangelo stood on his scaffolding when he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling (I must add here that I am certainly not comparing my ceiling to Michelangelo's).

I start with a white base when painting a sky ceiling. I then gradually add subtle washes of light blue, pink and purple to help form the shapes of the clouds and the blue sky beyond.
This method prevents the clouds from taking on the form of lumps of cotton wool and also creates some fantastic pinky greys when you wash one colour over another.
I describe my sky painting method in more detail with a step-by-step project in my first book - 'Trompe L'Oeil Interiors'.

Work in Progress - Tropical Island

2010-01-17T21:32:00.008Z

Here are some more pics of the tropical island mural. The room is finished now but is still looking a bit bare as there is no carpet or curtains etc.. I will post some more photos at a later date when the room is furnished.

Work in Progress - Tropical Island

2009-12-21T16:48:00.005Z

The light is at the end of the tunnel now - there is still a lot more I want to do but it is at least looking finished.

I've added some gentle waves to the foreground and softened the horizon - I have also added a reflection for the boat.

I have also added some rope for the roll-up blind and have also painted some highlight details on the wooden shack.

It does feel quite bizarre painting such a theme when the actual weather outside is the complete opposite.

Tropical Island - Work in Progress

2009-12-17T20:23:00.005Z

Here are some more photos of the tropical island mural I am currently working on.

I have started to introduce some greens now - makes a nice change from all those blues.

Work in Progress

2009-12-14T21:08:00.006Z

Here are some more photographs of the tropical island murals I am currently working on.

I am gradually introducing more colour - as well as some more wildlife.

DIY SOS 'The Big Build' - another pic

2009-12-11T21:48:00.006Z

Here is another picture I forgot to upload yesterday - it has me in it I'm afraid but it does show how effective the Tardis mural looks with one of the doors open.

I've now decided that I want one of these when I re-decorate our bedroom - just how do I sell the idea to my wife : )

DIY SOS - Kids in Crisis

2009-12-10T21:32:00.006Z

If you blinked then you missed us : )

At least our Tardis wardrobe and star ceiling got a little bit of airtime - here are the photos as promised.
I will be appearing in the new series of DIY SOS next year helping out in a project up in Norfolk - watch this space for further information.

DIY SOS 'Kids in Crisis'

2009-12-10T10:46:00.005Z

It's on tonight on BBC1 at 8:00pm - hopefully we didn't end up on the cutting room floor.

I'm sorry - I cannot divulge what it was we painted - Auntie would have me shot : )

Work in Progress

2009-12-08T22:41:00.007Z

Here are some update photographs of the tropical mural I am currently working on.

I have decided to paint the door but not the architrave as it is my intention to have an exotic bird (feathered one) perched on top.
I have also added a boat, some more palm trees and a distant island.

I have also started to paint a very blue looking scarlet macaw which is perched above where the bed will be.
These chaps can grow to about 33 inches long so as he is perched right on the picture plain I have painted him life size.

Work In Progress

2009-12-05T12:55:00.005Z

I thought it was about time I posted some photographs of a work in progress.

I have started painting a tropical island theme mural to cover all four walls and ceiling of a bedroom. Around the bed I am painting a driftwood shelter in the form of a four poster as well as a distant island, beach and a few palm trees.

I have also started this in a slightly different way to how I normally work - as you can see from the pics I have painted the entire room in blue and have then planned out the details in monotone. As I flesh the mural out I will gradually introduce the colour in tints - this should help unify the entire piece.
I will also have some wildlife dotted around including some parrots whose colouring will provide some wonderful contrasts to the cool blues.

The palm trees are always a challenge to get right - I have very loosely sketched the basic form in pencil and then just used a paintbrush to fill out the details.

I will keep posting the pics as I progress

Surprise Ceiling

2009-12-02T21:49:00.006Z

I have been painting a glow-in-the-dark star ceiling in Middlesex today.

The project was a birthday surprise for my clients sister who was barred from her flat, had her front door key confiscated and was unceremoniously dumped in Starbucks for the day with her laptop and a dodgy Wi-Fi connection.

Her bedroom was then cleared so I could then proceed to cover the walls & floor, block out the windows and paint the stars, nebulae and a passing comet on the ceiling. There was also a picture rail in the room so I decided to continue the effect down the walls to meet this.

Once the bedroom was completed, all the furniture & nick-nacks were returned using photographs taken of the room that very morning to ensure that everything went back in exactly the same place.

I hope the surprise was well received and that the day spent in Starbucks was worth it : )

The only downside to the day was that heavy rain and roadworks on the M25 meant that a 50 mile journey home took me nearly 3 hours !

DIY SOS 'Kids in Crisis'

2009-11-14T19:27:00.007Z

Just to let you know that the transmission date for the extreme edition of 'DIY SOS' has been moved back to Thursday, December 10th at 8pm.

Make a note in your diaries as you are set to be impressed : )

Cosmic Ceiling

2009-11-10T22:22:00.008Z

I have spent the last couple of days creating a cosmic ceiling for a child's bedroom in Essex.

The effects you can see in the photos were built up with layer upon layer of paint -applied by flicking a toothbrush & nailbrush. Half the paint made it up on the ceiling - the other half ended up on me : )

I do not normally paint this way and was pleasantly surprised at the different effects that can be achieved. It was my original intention to use an airbrush for this ceiling but opted to tackle it this way instead.

To add another dimension to the mural I have also used some glow-in-the-dark paint so when the lights are turned off - the stars carry on shining.

DIY SOS 'kids in crisis'

2009-11-02T09:21:00.007Z

Just got back last night after a 300 mile journey from Anglesey in north Wales. I was up there with my associate, Gordon Collett, where we were both painting some murals and trompe l'oeil for another DIY SOS makeover. We actually painted two murals although one of them doesn't look all that great in daylight ; )

Unfortunately I cannot reveal any details about what we painted as you will need to watch the show to find out - I will post up some photos of the murals and the gang once the show has gone out.

This episode was a special one and will be broadcast the night before 'Children in Need' on Thursday 19th November (to be confirmed). The scale of the project was phenomenal and involved an army of helpers from the local community - it should be a fantastic show.

Julia Kendell has been busy Twittering about the project at twitter.com/JKDIYQUEEN

I also found out that the show that I was involved in up in Norfolk will now be shown in the new year.(never mind)

Anamorphic Playground Art

2009-09-24T21:09:00.007+01:00

I have been up at my children's school today trying my hand out on a large scale anamorphic chalk picture. I went with the Rubic cube design to keep things simple - this is still new territory for me and I have a long way to go before I can produce anything remotely close to the quality of work by Mr Julian Beaver.

I spent the morning planning it all out with miles of string and in the afternoon I had about 25 children (5 at a time) to help me colour it in. Most of the chalk ended up on them and I'm sure their parents cursed me when they saw the state of their school uniforms : )

It didn't take the children long to figure out what the artwork was about - they appreciated that it only worked from one fixed view point and with one eye closed.

I may have some more news soon on the television front. The new series of DIY SOS will hopefully be starting in a few weeks time in which I filmed an episode up in Norfolk. There is also something else in the pipeline but I will say no more just in case.

Studio

2009-09-17T13:59:00.006+01:00

Work has now started to convert our integral garage into a studio so hopefully it won't be too much longer until I can start doing my trompe l'oeil workshops again. It will be fantastic to get my own working area back again
It will also have a lot more space compared to my old home studio and will be at ground level rather than up two flights of stairs.

Work is also still going on around the rest of the house - every room has been affected and the dust looks as if it will continue settling for the next few months. I am still putting my daughter's room back together which is taking longer than I intended. I may also be plastering this weekend if I can fit it around my daughter's cinema party.

Masterpiece (sort of)

2009-09-07T21:20:00.008+01:00

OK - the photo doesn't look like much, in fact it looks exactly like some newly plastered walls which is precisely what it is.

As you know our home is in the middle of a renovation at the moment. In anticipation of this I put myself on a plastering course a few weeks ago as I knew it would be a useful skill to have on board. The two walls in the photo are of our utility room and they needed plastering urgently so that our plumber could install a new boiler and hot water system.

I spent all of my Sunday morning on those two small walls - a long time I know but this was the first time I had plastered since the course and I didn't have my tutor to point out where I may be going wrong. Luckily the plaster has stayed on the wall - well it's lasted over 24 hours so far - as you can appreciate this is a big deal for someone who, up to a few weeks ago, had never picked up a hawk & trowel.

I did the course with a company called Capital Goldtrowel Ltd - they also do courses in tiling, bricklaying, rendering and Venetian plastering. They are based in Stapleford Abbotts, Essex and I thoroughly recommend them.

Building Work

2009-08-24T22:27:00.006+01:00

Work has been going on at our home now for over a week to remodel the downstairs and put the numerous steels in place for when we eventually add a first floor extension (once we can afford it).

As part of this first stage of works we will be getting our integral garage converted into a studio with pitched roof & velux windows to capture that Northern Light that we artists so insist upon : )
That part of the build is a few weeks away yet - in the meantime there is just lots of drilling, demolition, rubble & dust to contend with.

Also the roof of our kitchen & dining room will soon be taken off so a scaffold with a tin roof is being put together to protect it from the elements. The weather has been fantastic of late but it's destined to unleash a tropical downpour as soon as that roof's removed : )

I am also trying to work on some designs for a swimming pool wall amongst the debris -I have designed a nice peaceful classical English landscape which is the perfect antidote for the present upheaval.

Community Mural

2009-08-18T22:53:00.006+01:00

I recently got myself involved with some community artwork when our local library was adorned with a mural depicting aspects of Wickford Towns life & history.
The library itself is of the New Town Modernist architectural style which was all the rage in the 50's & 60's so a dash of art to the outside wall panels went down very favorable with all the passers by.

Lisa Temple-Cox from Colchester designed and organised the painting of the artwork and got quite a few schoolchildren involved including my own son & daughter. My son even got his picture in the local newspaper of which he is immensely proud and is now insisting that he wants it framed for prosperity.

I helped out in a small capacity for a few days - it was actually nice to be able to work on a mural with somebody else calling the shots : )

Please have a look at Lisa's website at www.lisatemple-cox.co.uk to see more details of her work including pictures of her numerous community murals.

The National Gallery & Tate Modern

2009-08-07T18:01:00.004+01:00

My wife & I took our two children up to London this week to soak up a bit of culture at the National Gallery & the Tate Modern.

They had been studying various works of art at school so to actually see them in the flesh was quite an experience for them.
Their favourite painting was 'The Ambassadors' by Hans Holbein the Younger. My son immediately laid on the floor to the bottom left of the painting so that he could look up to admire the anamorphic skull. It is reckoned that the painting was originally displayed over a staircase so that those climbing the stairs would be able to view the skull from the correct angle.

After climbing the lions on Trafalgar Square we took the tube to St. Pauls and from there made our way to the Tate Modern via the Millennium Bridge that my son fondly recognised from the recent Harry Potter film.

The Tate was a completely different experience for them - we got hold of some of the family activity worksheets and tried our hands sketching some sculptures and making our own with bits of cardboard and string. We also spent what time we had left in the day browsing round the galleries although my son's reaction to some of the pieces probably ruffled a few feathers : )

As for myself I feel that the greatest piece of art at the Tate Modern is the building itself - it is a fantastic example of Art Deco industrial architecture, almost cathedral like as if built to worship the power it would create in its original use.
I also have a soft spot for Battersea Power Station (also one of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's creations) and whilst I was at art college I photographed the building and produced a series of screen prints.

Optical Illusion

2009-07-03T21:41:00.006+01:00

I have been experimenting recently with anamorphic perspective. This is when a picture, when viewed face on, looks very distorted - but when viewed from the correct angle looks perfectly normal.

It can also create some very bizarre optical illusions like this.

Here I have painted a very crude Rubic style cube on a piece of board. By placing the two cup & saucers on the painting it creates the illusion that one cup is greatly larger than the other even though they are both the same size.

The only drawback is that these type of effects can only be viewed properly from the one, very precise, angle. They are great fun though and I will be trying out some more soon.

Florida

2009-06-24T12:12:00.005+01:00

It's been a while since my last post but I have been away for a couple of weeks dodging the storms over in Florida.

It was purely a pleasure trip as opposed to business which unfortunately means I am unable to offset it against my tax : ) It's probably the last place on earth to visit if you intend on a relaxing holiday - we did have a wonderful (& exhausting) time though in the Disney & Universal parks and had a drive to the Kennedy Space Centre on the east coast.

My son & I tried out as many roller coasters as possible and found the best one was the 'Manta' in Sea World. The wettest ride has to be the Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges at Universal's Islands of Adventure - make sure you ride it on a hot day as it took hours for all of us to dry out.
The Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is also worth a go.

Also, the Islands of Adventure had one of our favourite restaurants - the Mythos, which looks as if it has been carved out of the side of a mountain. If you ever eat there try the salmon which I adore and thoroughly recommend. The prices are also quite reasonable (compared to other theme park restaurants).

Driving was great fun and it was the first time I have driven in the US - it took me nearly two weeks to get used to turning right on a red light only to quickly get out of the habit once back in the UK.

We had a Dodge Caravan which probably did about 17 miles to a gallon. This meant that, although the fuel was a lot cheaper, it was still more expensive to drive around. Having a toll booth every few yards (or so it seemed) also totted up the costs especially when I got lost driving from the airport to the hotel and went though the same toll twice.

Now we just need another holiday to recover : )

Trompe l'oeil Butterfly

2009-05-17T21:06:00.013+01:00

Here is the picture that Billy (DIY SOS) asked me to paint. It is for a charity auction in aid of the Keech Cottage Children's Hospice near Luton. Their website can be found here.

The trompe l'oeil has been painted onto a small canvas 30 x 40cm - compared to what I am accustomed to that is microscopic : )
The butterfly depicted is a Peacock and the background is a simple aged stone effect with lots of paint splattering from a toothbrush - apparently they also brush teeth : )

I also promised Billy that I would get my children to paint a butterfly each as well which they duly did.

Billy popped round this evening on his way to the next DIY SOS shoot to pick up all three masterpieces. I will keep you posted as to how they all fare in the auction.

Provencal Window Mural Video

2009-05-12T14:17:00.005+01:00

Here is the finished video as promised - I had a lot more footage to edit down this time but managed to get the video time to just over 4 minutes. Hope you enjoy it.

There was one slight mishap during the filming - I accidentally knocked the camera tripod and had to re-position it. I nearly got it back into the same position.

I also quickly put this video together.

In order to paint the Provence scene I had to first roller over the crumbling wall effect I had painted a few weeks ago.
It would have been criminal 'not' to film it.

DIY SOS

2009-05-08T11:29:00.003+01:00

I have been painting some trompe l'oeil up in Norfolk over the last couple of days with BBC1's DIY SOS team.

I cannot divulge anymore information about what it was I painted and the nature of the overall makeover that Julia Kendell designed - you will have to wait until the show airs which may be towards the end of the year.
The Gosport show that I did with Gordon Collett was filmed in the March and broadcasted the following September so I'm guessing around six months.

I can say that it was a more extravagant piece than I painted at Gosport where I painted a simple stoneblocking effect. Although most of the credit for the Gosport show goes to Gordon who painted the fantastic trompe l'oeil statuette and the dinosaur. Gordon was unable to the make the dates for this show - hopefully there will be other opportunities.

It was great to meet up with everyone again- Julia, Nick, Billy, Chris, Julian, Mark & Mat. They all really work hard on these projects (including Nick) and put in long hours to ensure everything completes on time. The two days I was there we finished around 9pm which suited me as I had about four days work to cram into two. I could have done without taking a wrong turn on the way back to Essex though. Fortunately I managed to get home just before midnight !

Billy has also set me an artistic task in aid of a charity he supports - I may even rope in my daughter Hannah to help me.

Provence Window Trompe l'oeil Mural

2009-05-04T19:24:00.007+01:00

This is a picture of the latest trompe project that I have filmed.

I tried something a little more involved this time with more use of perspective techniques - especially for the louvre door. It was also a bit more time consuming and took a little longer than anticipated.

I had an empty bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape which I had polished off months ago. I had been meaning to use as a reference for a while now and seeing as it hails from Provence this seemed an ideal opportunity to paint it within the mural.

It may also take a while before I get the time to edit all the raw footage as I have another daunting project this week which I will write about soon.

Yet More Salespeople

2009-04-24T17:51:00.006+01:00

Those sales calls are coming thick & fast - I had yet another telephone call from a company who (surprise surprise) claimed they were part of Google and offered to get my site listed higher up the index - for a fee of course.
As we were both sat in front of our computers I also opened up Google so I could check my listing.

The conversation went as follows -

Me - I've opened up Google

Salesman - OK

Me - I'm using Firefox, what browser are you using ?

Salesmen - Google

Me - No, what internet browser are you using.

Salesman - Google !

Me - What, Google Chrome ? (this is Google's new browser by the way)

Salesmen - No, Google !

Me - Google is a search engine - what internet browser are you using ie Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari etc..

Salesman - Oh, er Internet Explorer.

The conversation went downhill from this point.

It also transpires (as if I could not have guessed) that the company were not part of or owned by Google.
But then again why let the truth get in the way of a sales pitch : )

Salespeople

2009-04-22T08:59:00.004+01:00

I have been receiving lots of sales calls of late regarding getting my site to page 1 of Google. The most recent one I had was quite revealing as it indicates to me how little knowledge some of these salespeople have about the product they are selling and the industry they are in.

The salesperson this time was from a company affiliated to Google (don't they all say that) and guaranteed to get my site on page 1 of Google for a monthly fee. After talking with the salesperson it transpires that this would be through the Google Adwords scheme and not by means of improving the organic placement of my site which is something I am always keeping an eye on and trying to improve as this is of more value.
I tried to explain this to the salesperson but she kept interrupting to ask questions like " What do you mean by organic listing " !!! This is a basic term when referring to search engine placements and is something she should have known. I'm not saying that such terms should be common knowledge but if you are in the industry you should at least know the basics. It's like a car salesperson who doesn't know what a steering wheel is for : )

She also didn't realise that different internet browsers give different results when searching on Google - I don't know the reason for this but I am aware of it. She wasn't too worried about her lack of knowledge here as she was using Internet Explorer which, she confidently states, is used by over 95% of internet users. I'm sure that users of Firefox (like myself) will beg to differ here but what do we know : )

At the end of the phone-call she signed off by saying that this obviously wasn't something that I was interested in. She had finally got her facts straight : )

Julia Kendell - New Website

2009-03-26T21:59:00.006Z

Julia (from DIY SOS) has finally got her new website up & running and it can be found at www.juliakendell.com.

There is also some DIY SOS fact-sheets on the site which gives more details & photos of the programs Julia has been involved in so far - including the Gosport show featuring Gordon Collett & myself.

Children's Murals

2009-03-13T10:50:00.004Z

I have just posted up a new video. This one is a slideshow of some of my favourite murals that I have painted for children's rooms.

They include my Peter Pan mural, the safari and jungle scenes and the Doctor Who Tardis, complete with my son dressed up as a Cyberman terrorizing his sister : )

Venetian Window Mural Video

2009-03-09T11:13:00.002Z

Here is the video as promised. I was up into the early hours editing this - hope you like it.

Venetian Window Trompe l'oeil Mural

2009-03-07T21:53:00.004Z

I finished painting this mural today - it is one that I have been itching to paint for some time now as I have always been fascinated with the eclectic facades and contrasting wall textures of the city of Venice.

As with the crumbling wall mural I recently painted - this will also be a short stage-by-stage film shot from a static camera.

It took me about ten hours to paint over a couple of days and I now have nearly an hour & a half of footage that I need to edit down into about 3-4 minutes.

Unfortunately about ten minutes of my initial footage was corrupted - luckily the rest survived intact (to my relief). It just means that I have no film of the very start of the mural when planning out the lattice work.

Hopefully I should have the film edited and uploaded to YouTube within a couple of days.

Crumbling Wall Mural - the video

2009-02-27T13:49:00.004Z

This was the main reason for painting the crumbling wall effect that I wrote about in my last post.

I have been meaning to put together a video of my mural work for ages now. I have done a lot of video editing for my family over the last few years - ever since we ditched the old PC and got an iMac about four years ago - yes, I am one of the converted : )

The bundled iLife software also included a fantastic video editing suite and now every year I produce a DVD of all the family footage I have shot.

The actual painting itself probably took about four hours to paint over a couple of days. I then had about an hour & a half of footage to edit down into about three minutes. This process has taken an awful lot longer than actually painting the thing in the first place : )

Hopefully this will be the first of many - if any of you have any suggestions for a video then I'd love to hear them - no lewd suggestions though ; )

Crumbling Wall Mural

2009-02-25T20:44:00.012Z

I've been working on one of my favorite paint effects - The Crumbling Wall.

I first tried out this effect about 15 years ago in my old office. At the time I was not particularly proficient in effects like stone blocking, marbling and rag-rolling so my decision to paint a derelict wall was almost like a reaction against those type of effects.

Marbling has an elegant and luxurious feel whereas a crumbling plaster effect looks like a wall in bad repair. I enjoyed this stark contrast - it's my rebellious paint effect and over time it has become my signature piece.

Over the years I have painted this effect many times in my customer's homes and also in a few Italian restaurants where the effect unselfishly lends itself to painted Mediterranean views and the odd trompe l'oeil glass of wine. It also works especially well in sun-baked conservatories.

I have also featured the effect in my first book, 'Trompe L'Oeil Interiors', as a step-by-step project. Since I wrote the book nearly seven years ago I have slightly evolved the way I paint it - to be honest every time I paint it I do something slightly different.

It is also quite a relaxing effect to paint as it requires minimal planning - I just start with a basic idea of where I want the exposed brickwork to be and then just sketch it out loosely with a paint brush and build it up from there. This ensures that the effect is kept as natural as possible - there is a danger that too much planning will reflect in the finished piece looking too contrived.

My main reason for painting this project will be revealed soon - it is something I have been meaning to try out for some time.

Watch this space - all will be revealed soon.

Stargazing

2009-02-12T21:28:00.011Z

Had another trip up to London today for a belated birthday meal. My wife & I booked a table at the Gaucho Canary in the London Docklands where we enjoyed a fantastic sea food starter followed by their renowned Argentine fillet steak with plenty of sides and of course some red wine to wash it down.
I thoroughly recommend a visit to their restaurants - we have also tried the Gaucho Broadgate in the past which is also worth a visit if just to admire the fantastic design of the restaurant .

After our meal we caught a train to Greenwich as I was keen to pay a visit to the Royal Observatory. The walk from the station across Greenwich Park and up the hill to the the observatory was just what we needed after such a filling meal.

On the way up I took a quick snap shot with my mobile of the view down to the Queen's House and National Maritime Museum with the Docklands in the background.

By the time we got up the hill it was getting on for 4:00pm so all we had time for was a show in the Planetarium. The last time I visited a planetarium was when I was a child. We intend to bring our two children back here as I'm sure they will love the experience, as we certainly did.

We bought my son Adam a telescope for his birthday a few months ago as he had expressed a keen interest in the stars & planets - especially after I painted his room with glow-in-dark stars.
It is a Newtonian reflector, and at first it was a bit daunting as I really had no idea on how to use the thing properly.
Luckily I had a lot of help from Andy from my wife's side of the family.

Andy is a keen amateur astronomer and showed me how to align the telescope's axis to the North Star Polaris amongst many other things. Before then had no idea where or who Polaris was or how to identify the myriad constellations that surround it. I am a bit better now and whenever we are out with the children on a clear night, I pass on some of my limited knowledge.

My daughter Hannah can now identify the constellation of Orion by finding the three stars that make up his belt. She can also point out Venus which is very bright in the sky at the moment and you can usually see it before it gets dark.

The weather suddenly changed on our trek home from the observatory and as I type this the snow is pilling up outside. The snow means lots of cloud cover so unfortunately I will not be able to venture outside this evening with the telescope : (

As a consolation I can always stargaze on my children's ceilings which comes a close second best : )

An Association of Professional Muralists

2009-02-10T21:28:00.012Z

Today was the first meeting in 2009 of the APM - An Associataion of Professional Muralists.

We try to meet up about two of three times a year and we have adopted 'The Chandos', just off Trafalgar Square, as our meeting place. To be more specific, we venture upstairs to the 'Opera Rooms' where we can relax on leather sofas by an open fire and have plenty of space to lay out our portfolios.

I thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the vicinity. You will find it on St. Martins Lane opposite the National Portrait Gallery and a stones throw from the National Gallery. The drinks are very reasonably priced as well - in case you were in need on any more persuasion : )

Four of us made it to the meeting today - our 5th and newest member Richard Bagguley is busy painting across the pond in Los Angeles. You can see what he is up to by reading his blog www.art-richardjbagguley.com/blog.html.
Of course he was missed by all, but on the plus side we did have more room to slouch on the comfy sofas.

I felt it was about time we had a group photo and here it is.
The usual suspects are - from left to right - yours truly, Anna Smith, Gordon Collett and Denise Cliffen. You can see their websites and find out more about their work by following this link - APM.

But what, you may be asking, are the APM about ? - well in a nutshell -

We are a self monitored group of independent artists with our own unique styles, clients, methods and cost structures.

Our aims are -

* To promote the use of murals in both public and private spaces, for both decorative and architectural use.

* To advocate a pursuit of excellence in the art and to conduct works in a reliable and highly professional manner by encouraging standards of good practice.

* To foster an environment of goodwill for the sharing of knowledge and experience and thus encouraging the development of the professional and artistic interests of our members.

* To provide the prospective and established client with over 50 years experience, a wide choice of styles and techniques with the assurance of a professional approach and to assist in sourcing an appropriate muralist for works considered.

We do find that the social aspect of our meetings is a welcome bonus as generally our work can be quite solitary.
We have also worked together occasionally on various projects - you may have seen Gordon & myself, frantically painting as if our lives depended on it, on "60 Minute Makeover" and "DIY SOS".
I have also worked with Denise on commissions in Essex and Gordon likewise with Anna.

I also hope to be helping out (in a small capacity) with some Venetian plastering with Richard when a suitable opportunity arises. Don't forget me Richard : )

Hopefully our next meeting in the summer will be a full house - fingers crossed.

Murals Revisited

2009-02-03T20:44:00.008Z

Hello again and Happy New Year - I know its February but better late than never. I could wish a Happy Chinese New Year in which case I'm still a week late : )
I have been meaning to get back into the blogging for the last few weeks - hopefully I will make up for lost ground over the coming weeks.

Anyway - I digress

I revisited two of my clients last week for whom I painted a Peter Pan theme nursery for their expectant baby to be. The baby is now a bouncing eight month old boy and the room I painted for him last year is now furnished to a very high standard.

The clients were very keen for the room to be relaxing so I kept the colours quite muted and with the addition of a colourwash to the surrounding walls it gave a subtle parchment effect. The dimensions and positioning of the two murals were designed around the furniture that was to go into the room.
I worked with the furniture manufacturers specifications because the actual furniture was yet to be delivered when I was working on the murals. The furniture itself has an ivory finish so again it was important for me to the get the colours of the walls right to ensure that everything looked right together. I was quite taken back to see the room furnished as when I last saw the room it had bare floorboards.

The mural has also been a great help, so I am informed, with the baby's bedtime routine. He now says goodnight to all the characters on his wall before turning in.
I have also painted a rather voluptuous Tinker-bell overlooking his cot which I'm sure he will appreciate more as he gets older : )

London Skyline Canvases

2008-12-08T13:11:00.003Z

I finally managed to finish this series of three canvases depicting the London skyline. I know it's not accurate - I used quite bit of artistic license to position the landmarks where I wanted them.

When positioned together as shown they are about 7 ft wide

My studio (garage) has been freezing of late so I made any tiny excuse not to venture in there to complete the painting.

On the plus side we have been given planning permission to extend the house and covert the garage in a studio - this means lots more upheaval next year but there is now light at the end of the tunnel (it's still a long tunnel though..)

Also as an addition to my lifeguard training and examination I have passed my First Aid at Work examination. I have been lifeguarding at Basildon & Wickford pools as well - including a session at 5:30 in the morning (not one I wish to do that often).

Back Spasms & Lifeguarding

2008-11-24T10:54:00.006Z

It's been an eventful couple of months. I have not been 100% of late - mainly due to a injury to my lower back. I stupidly done the damage whilst trying out my new maul axe to chop up some firewood ready for winter - I used the wrong posture and coupled with the large swing of the axe it was a painful combination.
The trouble with these sort of injuries is that it takes a little while for it to hit you so after chopping up the wood I felt fine.

The following day my back felt a bit sore but otherwise OK. I then went down to the riverside near our home to find some more firewood - I couldn't believe my luck when I found a whole tree trunk & happily dragged it back to our back garden and set to work on it with the chain-saw.

I paid dearly for all this the following morning - a Monday morning (I hate Mondays). My spine was completely twisted out of shape, I had to walk on tip-toes as I was not able to put my feet flat to the floor, it took me about half an hour to dressed and then another half hour to get my shoes on (I may be exaggerating). I was in a lot of pain though and truly believed I had slipped a disc.
Luckily my father-in-law was able to drive me to the doctors where I was informed that it was a muscular injury rather than a slipped disc - this came as a great relief. All I needed to do was to keep walking to ease the pain and help the muscle to repair itself. Gradually I was able to straighten up after a few days although it did have a habit of relapsing again. It did mean that I had to turn down some commissions, especially one that involved scaffolding over a swimming pool, so that did frustrate me a tad.

A few months before my self inflicted injury I had volunteered to be a lifeguard for my son's swimming club and my training started whilst I was recovering - swimming however is probably the best medicine for my back and has worked wonders.

The training involved CPR, first aid and water rescue skills including timed swim rescues and spinal injuries. I passed Unit 1 of the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) on Sunday 23rd at Harold Wood, Essex. Unit 2 will be continually assessed over a minimum of 7 hours training to make sure I can apply the skills from Unit 1 successfully in a work-related environment.

It basically means that when I take my son swimming I can now be pool side rather than sitting on the badly designed spectator seating which really aggravated my back.

Don't worry - I am still painting and have nearly competed a series of three canvases with a London skyline. I will post the pics up soon.

Blast from the Past

2008-11-05T14:21:00.009Z

Ok - this is an interesting painting of mine with a story attached.

I painted this mural as part of an art project many (many) years ago.
Back then I was a student at the Southend-on-Sea School of Art & Design doing my one year Art Foundation course.

The premise behind my project was to produce a work of art with indications and symbols referring to the year it was painted. It was then to be concealed with the intention that it would be re-discovered many years later and would be able to be dated by deciphering the clues.

I painted it at my home in a heiroglypic style and used a lot of the Egyptian symbolism as well as make up a few of my own to fit the bill. It probably only took me about half an hour to paint.
Once finished I photographed it for my project (to prove I had painted it) and then it was hidden away behind a few layers of lining and wallpaper.

And then I just forgot all about it.

Six years later I got married and moved out and then in 2004 my mother sold the family home to move into something smaller.
Then about 15 months ago the house came onto the market and my wife & myself took the plunge and went for it.
Now I am back in the home that I grew up in with my own young family.

This all brings us neatly full circle to that art project many years ago.
I am now in the process of decorating our office and have stipped off all the layers of paint and wallpaper in the room to reveal my heiroglypics painted nearly half my lifetime ago.

I do wonder though what someone else's reaction would have been if they had discovered these symbols hidden beneath the wallpaper.

As for the year in which I painted it - the clues are all there.

Long Distance Trompe L'oeil

2008-10-21T22:45:00.010+01:00

Over the last few days I have been helping a distant student paint a trompe l'oeil mural as a surprise for her husband.

I say 'helping' but Diane, from Newfoundland (Canada), has proved to be a very capable artist and despite my interfering she has produced this wonderful stone arch window for her stairwell wall.
Diane also painted an Australian Galah Bird perched on the window sill.

I'm so glad I was able to help - Diane had originally ordered my books to help her in completing the project but when she realised that they would not turn up in time she got in touch with me.
She gradually worked on the mural and emailed photos as the painting took shape - I was then able to make suggestions to help the mural along.

I have also just heard from Diane who informs me that her husband was very impressed with her trompe l'oeil - she was very worried as to what his reaction would be - but how could he not be happy with such an artistic surprise.
Diane also gave the mural a more personal touch by adding the date 1958 chiseled into the keystone - the year they were married.

Thank-you Diane - you are an inspiration

x x

More Glow in the dark stuff

2008-10-09T11:40:00.005+01:00

I'm still playing with those glow paints (actually I should say 'working' as that sounds much more professional).

I painted this a couple of weeks ago onto an MDF panel - I thought it would be fun to try something a bit OTT and seeing as I've already done stars, planets, moons and comets I thought I'd try my artistic hand at the Big Bang !

I have also just completed a bedroom ceiling for one of my daughter's school friends. He came upstairs to see me whilst I was halfway through - it must have seemed odd because yesterday was bright sunshine and I had darkened his room with blackout material to help me see what I'm doing (trust me - that makes sense).
He was concerned about the paint getting in my eyes and insisted I wear a pair of his goggles to protect me :)

My next project is for a London skyline painted across three canvases and I will be using some of the glow paint so you can have both a day-time & night-time scene on the same painting. It is all experimental but then that's what art should be about - wish me luck.

Partner-in-Crime

2008-10-02T21:09:00.006+01:00

Gordon Collett, my associate & partner-in-crime on "DIY SOS", will be at the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair at Royal Windsor Racecourse on 7th - 9th November.

Here is a link to the website www.windsorcontemporaryartfair.co.uk

He will have some new work on display & for sale including this fantastic "pop-up" corner trompe l'oeil piece based on Van Gogh's sunflowers.

If you are at the show, please seek him out and be sure to tell him I sent you - that way he will owe me a pint or two.

In case you haven't already seen his website you can find it here - www.muralartist.co.uk

DIY SOS Mural

2008-09-20T22:05:00.004+01:00

If you missed the show you can see it here -

DIY SOS Gosport

Gordon & myself turn up about 16 minutes in.

DIY SOS Murals

2008-09-19T21:58:00.010+01:00

Now the show has been aired I can post the photos of what Gordon & myself painted.

Gordon painted a fantastic trompe l'oeil statuette in the corner of the dining room. This is a style I have yet to try myself - it is very effective as you can tell from the photograph.

I painted the stone-blocking although Gordon did chip in and help with the highlights. On screen the effect was too subtle for the wider shots although close up it looked fine. It blended into the room rather than shout for attention.

The dinosaur was actually sprung on us at the last moment by the lovely Julia. We did consider Barney the Dinosaur but the copyright and lawsuit implications were a minor concern. In the end we opted for a cuddly dino who is definitely not Barney (or purple).

Gordon painted the dino - I did the trompe l'oeil bit with the missing block & cracks. I think we managed to paint it in about 25 minutes - our time spent on "60 Minute Makeover" had paid off.

DIY SOS Murals & Trompe l'oeil

2008-09-11T14:09:00.006+01:00

The long wait is over and I can at last tell you that the DIY SOS episode featuring Gordon & myself will be on your screens (for those of you in the UK) on Friday 19th September at 8:30pm on BBC1.

I thought you would also like to see a group photo of Gordon & myself with Nick Knowles, Julia Kendell & the rest of the DIY SOS team.
Some of you may recognise Julia from ITV1's "60 Minute Makeover" - as I mentioned in a previous post - Julia was the featured designer on the three shows that Gordon & myself participated in last year.

I have also been busy updating my website and there is now a section devoted to Star and Cosmic Ceilings.

Star Ceilings Forum

2008-09-08T21:22:00.004+01:00

As you know I have been experimenting with those glow-in-the-dark UV paints and I have found this fantastic forum which is overflowing with advice and techniques for painting your own star ceilings.

If you have ever wondered how those star and cosmic ceiling effects are achieved then have a look at
www.glowforum.com. It isn't rocket science to get these effects but it is great fun.

I also thought you would be interested to see a photo of a glow-in-the-dark planet & stars with the light on.

Here it is -

And this is the same painting with the lights off -

Patricia's Palette

2008-09-01T09:55:00.005+01:00

Patricia Buzo is another mural & trompe l'oeil artist based in Minnesota, USA. Please have a look at her blog at www.patricias-palette.blogspot.com and also her fantastic website at www.patricias-palette.com

It was after seeing her blog site that I decided to start up my own

- thanks Patricia.

More Star Ceiling Murals

2008-08-29T21:31:00.007+01:00

I have been busy experimenting with those glow-in-dark UV paints so I thought I'd show you a couple of recent effects that I have tried out.

At some point I will have to update my main website with all these new images - I have noticed that there are a lot of companies offering these glow-in-the-dark UV star ceilings so its probably about time I threw my hat into the ring.

Let me know if you have any ideas for a star ceiling effect and I will see if I can paint it & post the picture up here.

DIY SOS

2008-08-27T22:59:00.005+01:00

It shouldn't be long now before the DIY SOS program that features Gordon Collett & my good self is finally broadcast - keep an eye on Friday evenings on BBC1. I will let you know as soon as I have a definite date and will fully understand if you would prefer to watch another channel that evening :)

The show was recorded back in March in Gosport, Hampshire. We were brought on-board because we had both worked before with Julia Kendell (the new designer) on three shows for ITV1's "60 Minute Makeover" last year (see my website for more details).

I usually dread watching myself on television - mainly because of my Essex accent and the fact that filming usually coincides with a bad hair day. For most of the filming I probably looked a bit of a wreck but on the plus side I was in very good company.

Glow in the Dark Murals - Star Ceilings (revisited)

2008-08-14T22:17:00.012+01:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post I have finally pulled my finger out and painted my son's ceiling with UV glow in the dark stars & planets.

I started at about 8pm last night but didn't actually start painting till gone 10:30 - this is because I have to make sure that any surface that I do not want painted has to be covered.
If you look at the photos you will see that some of the paint is splattered on and this tends goes anywhere & everywhere. All the walls needed to be covered with plastic sheeting & the floor covered with dustsheets.

Once this tricky part is complete the easier & more enjoyable bit of painting the planets & galaxies can begin.

I didn't finish till after 1:00am and went to bed aching & exhausted but I was positively glowing and if my wife had woken up at that point she would have got the shock of her life.

Photographing the ceiling posed another challenge - I set up my camera on a tripod because of the long exposure needed, lined the shot up, charged the ceiling with a UV light and then clicked the shutter the second I turned off the light. I managed to get just two reasonable photos in the end and they still fall far short of the effect of seeing these star ceilings in the flesh.

Now I am thinking of ways I can combine this type of effect with my murals and trompe l'oeil work. If you think of any good ideas let me know.

New Students Work

2008-08-09T20:43:00.008+01:00

I thought you all would be interested to see some of the work that my latest students have produced.

The first piece is by my daughter Hannah and depicts her favourite subject matter of blue skies, green meadows & yellow flowers.

The second piece is by my son Adam and is entitled 'Gary'. Anyone who is familiar with 'Spongebob Squarepants' with recognise the famed sea snail in a rather psychedelic portrayal.

I am without a studio at present (due to moving house) so these masterpieces were painted out in the garden using the trellis as a makeshift easel. They also had to be finished in some haste as the weather decided to take a turn for the worse and it has pretty much stayed that way over the last week.

Things are in motion to rectify the studio situation and hopefully I will have something to report soon.

I look forward to continuing my mural & trompe l'oeil classes again as they were extremely enjoyable (not to mention hard work).

Glow in the Dark - Star Ceiling Murals

2008-07-23T09:02:00.011+01:00

I have just finished painting the ceiling in our daughter's bedroom with glow in the dark galaxies & stars. I recently saw the effect on BBC1's DIY SOS (which I will soon be on) so decided to give it a try myself.

To my surprise the effect is quite astonishing but unfortunately my daughter will not appreciate the full effect until the nights draw in as it is still daylight when its her bedtime.
My wife & I did wake her late in the evening so she could see the stars but in the morning she could not recollect anything - oh well, roll on winter.

Our son is now very keen to have his ceiling painted - it was my intention to do a glowing star ceiling in his old room in which I painted a space/Dr Who theme but then we went & moved house.
At present he has Winnie-the-Pooh wallpaper which hardly bodes well with an eight year old boy's tastes in interior decor.
His ceiling is smooth as opposed to artexed like my daughter's so I am planning something a bit more ambitious and will keep you posted on how it goes - hopefully with some photographs.

Oh, and just a word of warning if you every get the chance to use these UV paints - keep them away from children !
They are non-toxic so no worries there but my son was curious about the paints and decided to open one to have a look. This fact was unbeknown to us until we tested the ceiling at night by charging the paint with a UV lamp and found that not only did the ceiling have stars & galaxies but so did the carpet, walls and our son's face & hands.

I believe that is known as a 'smoking gun'.

MiniBeast Mural

2008-07-14T21:24:00.013+01:00

Over the last few days I have been helping a group of children from the Rettendon Primary School paint a backdrop for their school production of "Mini-Beast Madness".
The whole mural is about 12ft across and the children have also painted various bugs & creepy crawlies which have then been cut out and attached to the scene.
The mural was installed on the stage wall in the village hall.

For some reason lots of the children opted to paint ladybirds & snails and as all the snails, bar one, were facing the same direction I felt it appropriate for them to be racing each other (as snails do).

This backdrop was the second one the children painted - the first was started outside in the playground and, despite our weighing it down, the wind suddenly picked up & caused quite a mess with spilt paint.
Mark two was painted inside as soon as we managed to commandeer a suitable area to work - beng a small school of about 100 pupils space is scarce, especially when painting a 12ft mural.

I tend to help out at the school a couple of times each year with various artistic assignments from painting castle windows to garden design.
I am also keen to introduce the children to perspective drawing in due course - I just need to break it down into manageable chunks.

Welcome

2008-07-09T09:18:00.006+01:00

Hello and welcome to my new Weblog.

My name is Chris Westall (or Christopher if you prefer) and I am a muralist and trompe l'oeil artist based in the commuter town of Wickford, Essex (UK).
I work on all kinds of large and small commissions for businesses, shopping centres and restaurants as well as for private homes. My website has an extensive portfolio of work so I'm sure you will find something that is to your taste.

If you care to indulge me I will tell you more about myself.
I was born in the County town of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom in the year the Beatles split up.
I was passionately into art at an early age - I used to enjoy drawing my own comic strips and throughout my school years I delighted my friends and peers by drawing caricatures of the teachers. Fortunately, to the the best of my knowledge, the teachers concerned never traced the drawings back to me.

Although I loved drawing from a young age I kept clear of paint brush. Painting, as far as I was concerned, was very messy, difficult to correct and involved lots of tedious clearing up. I found the whole thing pointless and would avoid painting in my art classes with a vengeance.
Luckily my art teacher managed to twist my arm and showed me the light - otherwise I would not have got through my O' and A' Levels and more than likely would now be working as a retail manager or financial advisor which were two alternative career paths I ventured down.

There is loads more I could tell but it would take too long to put into words - and besides, it would mean I would have less to write about later on.

My intention with this weblog is to keep you all posted on what I am working on, maybe with insights into my painting techniques. I may even try some step-by-step projects as I did for my two books "Trompe L'Oeil Interiors" & "Trompe L'Oeil Bible". I'll have to see how the mood takes me.

But realistically this blog will probably be full of inconsistent ramblings intersected by the occasional rant and for that I would like to apologise now in advance :)