Temporary Wall Murals

I was browsing through murals online today and I got wall envy. I desperately want a mural. However, I’m not sure exactly what I want and where I want it. So, I decided to make a temporary mural on one of my walls to see if I liked the way it looks. Kind of like the temporary tattoos kids wear for fun. After I started working on my mural, it occurred to me that it might be a good option for artistic people who lived in apartments and other temporary situations and who didn’t want to have to repaint their walls when they needed to move on to a new place.

I drew my mural on a wall painted with semi gloss house paint using a watercolor crayon because pencils could leave a permanent mark and I wanted everything to be pretty much temporary. I then started to color it in using the same crayons. When I made a mistake, I literally washed it off and the paint underneath was as good as new. I have a lot more work to do before it is done, but I am pretty happy with my temporary mural so far.

Now, if I decide I like the mural after I live with it a few days, I can paint it in again using more permanent materials like acrylic paints and a sealant. If I decide I want it somewhere else, a rag, water and a Mr. Clean eraser will remove all evidence of the mural.

* A word of warning – I did not try this on flat paint. It might be a lot harder to get the watercolor crayons off of a wall painted with flat house paint, so test it in an obscure spot before you go to town on a rental wall!

Photo: K Thomas