Make an imprint on your heart not just your home.
Iam a mother of two (Arthur aged 3 and Eirlys aged 4), full-time teacher, and I design and paint custom murals. Currently living in Al Khobar, I travel back and forth across the causeway regularly to make the most of what Bahrain has to offer and to visit my parents who work there.
Starting up Dreams in Colour Murals happened on a bit of whim. I was living in Dubai, home on maternity leave, and wanted to start up something all of my own. Painting canvases or doing pencil drawings as a business just didn’t seem to appeal. So I landed on the murals: creative, a bit quirky and so much fun! I was lucky to have a network of mums as an advertising platform and commissions started to come in regularly. Word of mouth led to some different and more challenging jobs, including a pamper salon in a children’s soft play centre.
Painting a mural for a client is a project that involves a lot of discussion and trust. After all, the wall can’t be exchanged! I spend a while with the client looking at images (pinterest is a fantastic tool) and discussing what they have in mind. Then I begin sketching for them; sending sketches back and forwards, until we have an agreed design. Finally painting can start! I work using a variety of paints, as different styles of painting require different texture and opacity. Different wall surfaces can also pose a challenge and require a different consistency of paint to be made up.
Putting the first paint stroke on the wall is one of my favourite parts of a project. The wall is no longer clean, the paint can’t be rubbed out or changed and there is no going back! I also love the way a mural completely transforms a space.
Murals are a strange art choice. They are uniquely permanent (you can’t move them or take them down easily) and temporary at the same time (if you move home the mural is lost). People are often put off by the temporary nature of murals. Many of us, especially here in the Middle East, live transitory lives and our homes are often short-term. Murals cannot be put into the shipping container! However, I feel that this is part of the magic and sensation of murals. They are a little impractical and fanciful but so extraordinary and beautiful. ν
Lydia Rose Morgan –
Dreams in Colour Murals
@dreamsincolourmurals
facebook.com/dreamsincolourmurals
behance.net/talemorgan2da9