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Making murals is a labour-intensive activity. All parties concerned have first of all to agree on the subject. Then the artist's antennae have to capture the atmosphere of the place. The colours of the mural have to harmonize with the surroundings and its impact on the overall interior has to be assessed.
Then comes research-time during which the material for the structure of the mural is gathered. This means browsing in archives, libraries, photos, magazines etc. After a few days, an inner image of the mural arises and a small scale pencil sketch can be made. With this sketch the patrons already get an idea of the final result, but in most cases, Rita and Karel also make a colour study. The advantage of such a study is that the drawing, the colours and the contrast are already established on a smaller scale. This is important, because once before the wall, you cannot afford to change a colour ten times.
Now the moment has come to prepare for the mural life-size. Sometimes circumstances are such that only a completely manual enlargement is possible. This is done the old way by multiplying the small squares on the sketch by factor "x" and then to redo the drawing full-scale with the aid of this screen and to copy it on the wall. In many cases however, it is possible to use modern devices: the episcope which projects photos and the overhead projector with which transparancies are used. Professional skill and years of experience are in this case very important: perspective behaves differently on a small versus large scale; deformations during projection have to be corrected; empty spaces appear even more empty when blown up; warm and cold colours influence the feeling of distance etc. You cannot learn all this in a two year "mural course".
At this stage the drawing is on the wall and after all this preparation - half of the job - painting can finally begin.