Canvas Murals

I love painting murals on canvas, its so much easier for everyone involved, the client and the artist. The artist can totally focus on the work without interruption, and the client is not inconvenienced by the presence of all the equipment thats necessary to produce the work.
Another advantage?....it can be removed for whatever reason...... a move to a new home, maybe a child has outgrown it and it will be saved for future generations, or maybe its just time for a change, it could be sold or donated to a favorite charity auction.
Thanks to the internet finding canvas for your project is super easy. Here are a few sites to check out: Lakearts, Allens Canvas, and you can even check out ebay, I've gotten great deals on canvas there. Theres just something special about a huge roll of pre-primed canvas....all that potential I guess:-)
I always buy pre-primed canvas for two reasons, lazy and I like to get right to the artwork. Oh, and also it doesn't shrink as much (in my experience). A tip.....always paint your mural a little larger than the measured size, just for that reason...to allow for shrinkage. I had one shrink 6" once, it was pretty long. You'll trim off access when hanging.
Depending on the size of the project, I either tape or staple the canvas on the wall in my studio. In the example of the underwater mural above, I hung the roll of canvas from a long metal pole attached to the top of my wall (like a curtain rod) and another attached to the bottom of the wall. It was like a giant scroll.
I either invite the client to visit the studio to view the progress, or if thats not possible I email them regular photo updates. You don't want to have to make changes once you're on the job site.
One concern clients have is that the mural won't look 'authentic'. I think most of the time it's because they don't realize that you can buy canvas on a roll that large, they think in terms of the paintings they have hanging on a wall. Or they're also afraid the mural will look rough because of the canvas texture.....again not realizing that there are different degrees of textures to canvas or even different materials that murals can be painted on that are totally smooth. Here are a few murals that I painted on canvas.
The photo below is a good example of a canvas mural that was added to a mural that had already been painted directly on the wall. The 'window' was painted on canvas. You can not tell where one ends and the other begins.
If you are considering painting murals on canvas and installing them, consider the size of your project. It may be worth your time to hire an experienced wallpaper hanger. If you feel its a project you can handle on your own or at least with a friend or two, you can find good instruction on The Mural Schools website.