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Arabic Inspired Mural Art

Cool - bumped into this article on a street mural artist inspired by Arabic calligraphy and the Qur'an just after I posted about the Arabic writings inscribed upon the Taj Mahal.

The Taj: a Calligraphic Wonder

The black marble lettering that graces the soaring Taj Mahal is a beautiful thing to behold. The Arabic calligraphy, transcribed from the Qur’an, is inscribed in long, swooping, stark black lines - a gorgeous contrast against the serene white marble. I was lucky enough to visit this wonder of the world, and when I did walk the calm grounds to the magnificent structure, the lettering struck me by far as my favorite part - perhaps with the exception of those viciously cute monkeys trawling the grounds.

Calligraphy is a beautiful art form that can be used expressively and beautifully in a mural. Though the Taj’s marble inlay isn’t widely identified as mural, it *is* a gorgeous form of art expressed upon a wall, as many murals can also be defined. The lettering on the Taj provides a profound and beautiful example of words used as art.

Extracting inspiration from the awesome world around us is integral to art-making. In that spirit, the art of the Taj inspires an array of images in my mind – of how murals offer a fantastic opportunity to use lettering expressively and even abstractly of various languages and alphabets.

Mural Scouting: Sperryville, VA

Some friends and I spent a night camping in Shenandoah National Park this past weekend. Saturday was full of hiking, eating, camp fires, smores, beers, and general all round nature merriment. Then Sunday morning we woke up to fog and rain. Plans to fry up a pan of migas for breakfast were quickly dashed in favor of stopping at the first eatery on the road back home. Rambling along the beautiful lush farmland of Route 211, we peeked a welcoming sign hanging from a storefront at the Sperryville Junction - one that surely meant “eatery.” One U-turn and a few hundred feet later, we pulled up to this beautiful mural of blooming colorful flowers.




This mural is painted upon the outside of Rae’s restaurant. It only got better when we spied the dumpster… upon which was depicted a banana-detonating monkey.





The outdoor artscapes are just the beginning of Rae’s creative cozy feel. Step inside to awesome green walls, comfy tables with whacky salt & pepper shakers, and shelves full of odd goods for sale - from zombie masks to jars of honey. And the food lived up to all this visual enticement: Everything – absolutely everything – was amazingly delicious. I recommend the Jamaican black bean soup and the homemade four berry pie.

The Sunday Sketch

Mural Technique: The Quick Lowdown

Included among my artistic and muralistic blog-explorations will be the mechanics of mural-making. An awesome mural is often preceded by an involved and constructive case of pre-mural madness – from architectural considerations to artistic technique. For the first in this series, here is the gloss-over – a quick outline of steps as to how to get a mural on a wall:

• Assess the wall – determine its condition. What type of paint is on it? What is the history of paints used on it? Investigate. Is there mold and mildew? Where is that coming from? Address this issue before painting a mural on the wall.
• Clean the wall – remove dust and oils. The cleaning product you use depends on just how dirty your wall is – anything from water and dish soap to degreaser. Allow to dry completely before applying any paint.
• Apply a primer – This will allow paint to adhere to the wall. I use gesso, which allows for a white surface. If a different color background is necessary, there are plenty of color gessoes available.
• Paint! Best bet is to use good quality acrylic paints. Oils stay wet, and need ventilation to use to maintain a healthy environment. Cheap acrylics do not belnd well, don’t have the pith that good quality ones do. I’ve used Winsor Newton and Golden.
• Seal it up. Make that paint shiny, vibrant and able to stand the years looking polished and sweet. Considerations for type of sealant depend on location of the mural (indoor or outdoor? Moisture-rich area? Etc)

The details of assessing, cleaning, priming, painting and sealing will all be delved into in subsequent blog posts. Till then… happy muraling!

Breaking Waves Streetscape

While painting the Akridge Half St Mural last Friday, I ran into Jazirock, who showed me muralistic sweet spot not 5 blocks away from the milling baseball crowds.







Panels lined the fence at K and 1st SE, with artists were hard at work creating designs. It all comes to a head on July 11 (that’s tomorrow) for a Mural Jam starting at 5 pm. All the artists will be there together finishing up their panels. Seriously awesome work is going on here!