I started to paint murals when my children were young - mostly nurseries and playrooms for friends and family. Demand unexpectedly grew and I was asked to paint other rooms, some in commercial buildings as well as private houses. As my children grew older, this became a business and I set up Cerulean Blue in 1999, with the aim of painting 'hand-painted' interiors. I have painted ceilings, a pool room, interiors in shops and foyers, museums etc. incorporating 'faux' paint effects and the art of trompe l'oeil.
I only paint murals occasionally now, but still consider smaller projects.
Trompe l'oeil simply means 'to trick the eye' and is used to blur the line between the real and the imaginary. For instance, views or vistas seen through doors or windows that don't actually exist, can liven up or make use of a dead space.
Murals can transform rooms, especially when painted in spaces used for relaxation.
Modern spaces or children's rooms sometimes call for something a little more contemporary or stylized. These murals tend to be simpler in terms of style and are often painted on white, with no background detail. They are more like illustrations and in fact the Wild Animal mural shown below inspired the illustrations for my children's book Monkey Monkey Monkey.
