I am an oil painter but have a client that would like a ceiling mural in a bathroom (humidity). Would it hold up if I do it on canvas and hire a wallpaper crew to apply it? I think in my area there's probably not much experience in applying canvas paintings. Any comments would be helpfull. Thanks, dougrughstudio@aol.com website: www.dougrugh.com

LAST EDITED ON 23-Aug-01 AT 08:19 AM (PST)

Hi Dough! You will have no problems painting the mural - I visited your site - amazing work!!!

You will find wallpaper installers in your area - it is a common thing - preprinted "murals on canvas" and, I think, Dun Edwards paint store sells those. You can ask them to give you some business cards to call around for the installers.

ilia

Thank you Ilia. Actually I've just met with the client and they would like troemp l'oeil painted spots throughout (walls and ceiling) and so I must paint directly on the walls.

So the next question is: Any problem with painting artist's oil paints over Benjamin Moore acrylic latex, or alkyd paints?

Thanks for your response.

doug

Hi Doug,

It should be just fine, treat it as if it would be primed canvas. The only set back is that you would be relying on the wall beneath the primer - if it is a new construction - you are good - monitor the priming, several (3 or so) coats of oil based primer with light sanding in-between.
If you are going over old paint then you must make sure that there is no bubbles (lifting of the original paint) or water stains on the plaster within the wall, etc. etc. If there is it should be scraped, sealed, patched after the source of damage(moisture) is found and fixed. When you are satisfied with the wall condition prime the wall with (2 or so) coats.

In your case - painting sections here and there. I would paint the entire wall to the final color first and then paint the murals over.

ilia

Thanks Ilia, for your response.

Have you started the mural, yet? (I see you posted on August 1, and figured it's been enough time...) How's it coming? You mentioned that the client wanted spots of Trompe... are you done with any?

I am curious to hear if you successfully covered acrylic based paint with oils. I have heard that you can cover acrylic with oil, but wasn't sure if you could cover oil with acrylics.

Visit me at...
www.thefauxtasticartist.com

I have a very sucessful mural business. Since I work primarily in newly constructed homes, textured walls and latex paint are my "canvas". I would not imagine oil paint would adhere. I use a high-quality, high-pigment artists acrylic.

However, I am curious about fresco pigments over latex paint. I would prefer to use the wet plaster tecnique, but this would, unfortunatly, not be acceptable to my clientele.

Any thoughts?

>However, I am curious about fresco pigments over
>latex paint. I would prefer to use the wet
>plaster tecnique, but this would, unfortunatly,
>not be acceptable to my clientele.
>
>Any thoughts?

Hi SKM!

Fresco pigments are quite the same as pigments used for any other medium, except that not all of the modern day pigments will resist the lime in the plaster. This is why the selected group of lime resistant pigments is called "Fresco Pigments"
Those are earth, oxides and mineral pigments.

Why would it be (fresco) unacceptable to your clients?

One of my students used an analogy:

Fresco Painting is a "platinum" in relation to any other medium.
As well as popular in 1930th US - fresco painting is a logical link between architecture and decoration.

What's up with your people?!

http://frescoschool.com
http://truefresco.com/workshop

I have donne something like that before,but this ideea with the canvas application in a humid enviroment is not a good ideea!!!
you should do the painting in enchaustic(wax mixed with oils) .this will last a lifetime and more!!!!doit straight on the cieling with some acrylic basecoat.
good luck

u r very right about that, istvan:)

Hi Doug!

In response to your inquiry, I add the following suggestions:

1) First, there should be adequate ventilation in the bathroom. You should first check to see if the bathroom has a window. If not, make sure there is a fan to draw the moisture out of the room. This preparation will alleviate many headaches down the road. Being prepared is a must when you are doing a project like this. You don't want to spend countless hours painting a mural and then find it ruined by moisture when that could have been prevented from the beginning.

2) As for hiring a wallpaper crew, you need to do some research. Call around, speak with people who might know or refer you to a business who specializes in hanging wallpaper. Don't choose a company just because it is cheap. You should hire people with the right know-how and expertise. Again, preparing things in the beginning will save you in the long run.

3) As for painting the mural in oils, I would not recommend that. Oil paints are composed of different elements, as compared to regular acrylics. If you want something that is durable, I would suggest that you try acrylics instead. (Hint: Check for mediums that can be added to your acrylic paints which retard the drying process. This will give you more time to blend colors.)

I hope my suggestions have been helpful to you and other readers.

Muralist- D. Windseth