Steam Train Mural by Artist Nicole McClain

The canvas measures 48" x 40" done with acrylic paint. The client was looking for a "train through the mountains motif" featuring water, trees and all the colors of nature. The painting will be displayed in the front lobby of their office building upon completion.

Any mural I create begins with a pencil sketch directly on the canvas or wall where the mural is to be located. The next step is to begin painting in some of the background scenery such as the grass and trees shown below.

I outlined the mountains to be sure where I wanted them to reside before painting the sunset sky. Add a little blue for the lake and suddenly the painting quickly starts coming to life.

Detailing more of the mountains and hills of the grass is shown below.

One key to this mural is the depth of each piece including the trees, mountains, train and lake. I have filled in more of the water below and will later add more shading to show the reflection of the sunset in the water and to show the water in the foreground.

A base layer for the sunset sky is dropped in behind the mountains.

Shades of blue are added to the sunset to show the gradient of sunset to the nighttime sky above. White is also added to tone down the yellow for a more natural look.

Here the sunset is softened behind the mountains with hues of orange and the detail of the mountain range and train begins.

Mountains with a dusting of snow are added way off in the distance to give depth and additional character to the painting. The foreground rocks and railroad ties begin coming into focus with earth tones for a faded, rustic look.

The mountain lines are further defined to make each peak and valley "pop," as well as the water near the cliff's edge.

Refined details of the train are shown below keeping in mind the angle of each curve, line, and light reflection.

The cliff on the right side of mural is added with brush and rocks.

The train cars and mountain valley are painted to come out of the mountain once again keeping in mind each curve, line, and angle of the train.

The bridge, track and train wheels begin coming to life.

The grill of the train is added as well as the beginning of the train tracks.

Family Crest Mural by Nicole McClain

The canvas measures 18" x 24" done with acrylic paint. The details in this are nearly as complex as the panda mural because this painting represents a family code of arms dated back to the 1500's - each leaf, color, shape has a specific meaning to the family.

Finished Family Crest Mural (scroll, name, sword, details finished)

I was given a very rough black and white outline of what the final piece should look like and what colors should be used where.

It was not easy to decipher, but the soon to be owner of this piece was ecstatic with the results!

Chinese "Fall" Mural by Nicole McClain

It's ironic that the name of this mural is "Fall." It was drawn and painted while leaning more than 3 feet over a 25 foot stairwell. There wasn't a convenient place for a ladder on the stairs and the balcony was the only way to access this wall - which made the accuracy of the lines difficult. But this is where it had to go and I was determined to make it look like I painted it in the studio.

One of the Four Seasons Collection: Fall

This mural was painted with acrylic paint and measures 3 feet high by 4 feet wide.

Large "Love" Chinese Mural by Nicole McClain

I've painted this symbol before, but not one of this size for this symbol. This was a residential painting for a bedroom wall using acrylic paint and measures 66 inches high (approx 5.5 feet) by 66 inches wide. It is certain to grab the attention of anyone who enters the room.

Chinese "Love"

Panda-monium Mural Finished, artist Nicole McClain

Finally, after what seemed to be a million miniture brush strokes and layers of acrylic paint, the Panda mural is finished.

The mural began with a basic pencil sketch (what I refer to as the "possible") and lightly colored in with colored pencils. The next step was to wash the background with a sunset finish and then "place" the panda in a comfy spot.

This is where the millions of brush strokes came into play. I wanted to make the panda look realistic by showing his individual hairs on his entire body. The trick was to be sure I was overlapping the colors at the right time in the right direction.

In the picture below, you can see the detail of these hairs for his ears.

At this point, I decided this guy needed more than just a sunset, but some plants to choose from for lunch. I began washing the background with some green tones and painted in a few plants. I also added in more orange tones to the yellow sky.

With his paws appearing to be clinging to something, I added a few plants coming out from underneath his paws.

I didn't like the results of the first attempt for the plants that we coming out of his mouth, so with some black paint I "erased" them and would eventually paint in some new ones. Notice there are more plants in the foreground on the right as well.

Originally, there were going to be chinese symbols on the left hand side of the painting, but after discussing the idea, we settled on the idea of more plants. So I picked up my green paints again . . .

Something still wasn't right. The top left hand side was missing something, but something too dramatic might take away from the main focus of the painting - the panda. The missing piece was cranes flying overhead far in the background with the sunset shining on their wings.

With a few more plants on the left in the foreground, the mural is "finished" (although none of my work is ever finished in my eyes).

Chinese "Winter" Mural by Nicole McClain

This was a second mural painted on an adjacent wooden door in the same room as posted in my last entry (see below). This mural was also painted with acrylic paint and measures 2 feet by 3 feet.

One of the Four Seasons Collection: Winter

Second "Spring" Chinese Mural by Nicole McClain

This mural was painted with acrylic paint to "spice up" a plain wooden door in order to match the decor of the room. This mural measures 2 feet by 3 feet.

One of the Four Seasons Collection: Spring