Hello Everyone!
I would like to share information about my artwork. I was invoved in the visual arts program at my high school. Over the summer I painted four murals, one for each of the foreign language classes. I contributed many volunteer hours after I graduated. When the kids returned the next year they just destroyed my murals with their grafitti and marks. I went back to touch up with paint and even clearcoated them with polycrylic. The kids still wrote on them. Someone took a key or other sharp object and scraped right through the paint and protector. Can you imagine that? I informed several staff and faculty members, all of which just disregarded my concern. Even an instructor in the art department remarked: "There's nothing anyone can do about your murals. They're public domain!"
After that, I just finished painting and decided not to deal with it anymore because I had already graduated. Since then, I moved out of state. A staff member, who I've kept in contact with, mentioned that the murals were not being maintained and I replied: "Sorry, I can't go back and fix them. I told you what would happen."
Well, from all this, at least I learned a valuable lesson. (Never work for free. People don't appreciate things that they don't have to pay for.)
For all of you who are reading my comment: please, please, please don't paint a mural for public use. The public doesn't appreciate artwork that someone else sacrificed time and money for. I haven't given up on murals. I plan on painting murals for private residences and businesses, and this time for a salary.
Mural artist- D. Windseth
