Collaborative Mural at Tullibody Care Home with Lornshill Art Department
In late August 2024, I was approached by the staff at the Orchard Care Home in Tullibody regarding a special project. The care centre had recently extended its memory dementia unit and created a new outdoor space. One side of the area featured a dull, grey garage wall, and they hoped to have a mural painted on it—something vibrant and engaging for the dementia residents to enjoy. They also wanted to involve pupils from Lornshill Academy’s art department in the process. I thought this was a fantastic idea and was more than happy to get involved!
(Myself with the 24/25 Advanced Higher Art Pupils of Lornshill Academy.)
After brainstorming and discussing ideas with the residents, we settled on the theme of Exotic Birds—a perfect way to liven up the garden and transform the space into a colourful, tropical jungle that they would love to explore. I created the design in Photoshop and sent it over for feedback. Everyone loved it, and we got the green light to move forward!
(Original Photoshop design by Me)
On 9 October, my dad and I primed the wall with a fresh coat of white paint to prepare it as a canvas. Seeing the wall in person for the first time was exciting, as it really brought home the scale of the project. At this point the wall was completely unrecognisable and I was eager to get some colour into it!
After attending to other commitments, I returned to the wall on 29 November to begin laying the groundwork for the mural. Using bright and vibrant spray paint, I started blocking out the rough shapes, colours, and forms to establish the foundation of the piece. The spray paint was perfect for this project, instantly transforming the previously dull, grey wall into a vibrant canvas full of life and energy. This phase went better than I expected—given that I’d never tackled anything on this scale before—and I was surprised yet pleased with the initial result. I deliberately left out most of the finer details, knowing that the Advanced Higher pupils would be joining me the following week to help bring the mural to life.
(My original sketched design using spray paints)
On 6 December, we finally completed the mural! At this stage, I acted more as a supervisor while the pupils worked on enhancing and refining the sketch I had prepared earlier. Their contributions really elevated the piece, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. It was a great opportunity for the students to work on a large-scale project, and I hope they gained valuable experience from it. Big props to the girls for braving the cold from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to see it through, It was really appreciated!
It was interesting to see the ideas forming in real time and how everyone had their own unique style. The finished result ended up being a mixture of everyone’s work which was really cool!
While we painted, one of the residents watched the entire process from her window, start to finish. I was told that she usually sleeps most of the day, so her engagement was incredibly heartwarming and a reminder of what this project was all about—bringing something new and stimulating for the residents to enjoy.
Here are the results of our efforts!
I’m so proud of how this mural turned out and can’t wait to see how it complements the garden in the summer, with the residents relaxing and enjoying the space. A massive thank you to Sandra and the team at the Orchard Care Home for giving me this opportunity and to Mrs Taylor and the Lornshill Academy art department for all their help throughout!
I hope the residents enjoy it!
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View more of my work or contact me at www.kyleblainart.com
