Hand Painted Murals
Socially Engaged Art / Sustainable MuralsThe result was fantastic! Beautifully executed and great use of colour.
It transformed the site and brings pleasure to everyone who passes by.
Visual artist Claire Ward-Thornton creates beautifully crafted murals for your walls!
Find out about Claire’s process, her painting experience and methods of engagement.
THE HUMAN FACTOR
Claire WT is a Fine Artist and scenic painter bringing beautiful hand-painted murals to public spaces. Her expressive, painterly style offers a unique quality in contrast to digitally printed design or smooth rendered spray paint.
Traditional Techniques
Lively and vibrant visual communications are crafted by the artist’s hand with traditional painting methods. Washes, glazing, textural applications, graphic colour blocking, schematic mark-making and abstraction are among the techniques that Claire will offer.
EVERY SURFACE IS A CANVAS
Wooden hoardings, brick walls, concrete and aluminium panels include but are not limited to the list of suitable surfaces. Exterior and interior spaces apply! Murals can be painted on-site or on panels in the studio and installed later.
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
Claire uses trusted suppliers to source LOW VOCS paint and environmentally friendly materials. Products with no harmful pollutants are the goal. No aerosols, no oils, only water-based paint and anti-graffiti coating which offers a low carbon footprint.
VALUES
– BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS –
CSR markers
Claire bridges the gap between community and stakeholder interest through creative exchange involving partners and locals in idea generation.
Purposeful design
Ideas are informed by research contextualised by the location or creative brief of the mural. Design is an iterative process which invites meaningful collaboration.
Environment
Environmentally-friendly materials which offer an alternative to carbon and plastic-heavy printing processes are used as a priority.
Sustainability
Through a model of art education, Claire supports young people in gaining access to work experience and employment through mentorship and training.
Painted stories
About:
Claire Ward-Thornton is the founder and lead art educator of Art Hoppers. Established in 2012 as a London-based art education organisation, Claire has worked in partnership with the education sector and a diversity of community groups across public and cultural spaces involving children, young people, families and adults of varying needs, ages and backgrounds.
Claire has a BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree and a background in scenic painting for TV, film and theatre. Throughout her professional career Claire has produced large-scale murals in public and private spaces for local government, business, schools and cultural venues.
The experience of designing and delivering art projects for children, families and adults has informed Claire’s practice to include social engagement at the heart of her planning and ideas.
For clients interested in team building, continued professional development or aligning their values with external communities there is scope for an exciting creative relationship with Claire which has the potential to enhance staff well-being and public relations through the process of mural design and visual communication.
Claire offers full project management of the planning and design process.
TWO-TIER CREATIVE PROCESS: ENGAGEMENT AND RESPONSE
1 / ENGAGEMENT
A Creative Partnership
1. The client describes the brief, including site, size and type of surface and if the design is temporary or permanent. Options for the type of delivery i.e. created on or off site are agreed. Claire presents the breadth of the service she can offer. This may include full project management plus promotion and PR as part of a coherent design package.
Optional – Social Engagement
2. If desired, Claire can manage in-house or public consultations with relevant stakeholders to generate additional ideas and/or feedback on the proposed artwork. There may be an interest in social engagement to open up the design process. There may be an aspect of social enterprise in wishing to engage creative students in a work experience or employment opportunity through training and mentorship re: painting application.
2 / RESPONSE
A reflective art practice
3. Claire submits a design proposal and budget to the client for feedback. If this includes social engagement, the design is developed and informed by the outcomes of consultations and/or creative workshops.
An iterative design process
4. Client feedback generates discussion and critique. Amendments are made to hone the design and it’s messaging.
Promotion and project legacy
5. The life of the project can be documented through photography and video to build a compelling story around the concept of the artwork and it’s process of being. A micro-website can also be created to archive the development and inform visitors of the process.
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
CREATIVE WORKSHOPS
Click here for an example of a mural painting workshop delivered to 3 local community groups in Hackney by Claire in September 2023. The aim in this case was not to invite people to input ideas toward a mural design but instead to engage them in the heritage of this listed building and the stories of the surrounding area connecting people of the past with the renovation of the site and it’s future placement in the borough as a cultural venue.
There was in fact a large exterior mural being painted on the site at the time of the workshop. The intention was to offer a creative extention of the mural painting process enabling participants to appreciate the art of mural design whilst also wishing to promote the historical relevance of the chosen image and how it connects directly to the site.
Supporting the next generation
Sustainable Practice
As part of our educational offer, Claire supports university students in gaining valuable training and work experience through employment opportunities and mentorship with her creative team. Opportunities include:
- Assistant Painters – University art students work under the guidance of Claire while assisting in the painting application of murals.
- Documentary Photographer – Photography students shadow Art Hopper’s professional photographer Pau Ros & record the engagement and painting process.
- Accredited Training – Where students are required to work at height, they receive relevant training. H&S and methodology briefings are an essential part of all projects.
Get in touch!
Use this form to let us know about your projects
We’d love to make beautiful murals for your walls!
Designs which speak to your audience and promote your values…
ART HOPPERS AWARDS:
- People’s Choice Big Draw Award, 2019 – Won in partnership with RichMix
- Future Artist ArtsKickers Award 2017 for #TAG – The Art Gallery at Gayhurst School
- Saatchi Gallery Art Prize for Schools 2017 (Shortlisted to the final 20 of 24,000 entries worldwide) for ‘Hall of Dreams’ at Ambler Primary School