Table Of ContentTHE CREATION OP A WATER COLOR MURAL
FOR THE DINING ROOM OF A LARGE
RESIDENCE OF MODERN DESIGN
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of Fine Arts
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Fine Arts
by
Helen Dedeaux
September 1942
UMI Number: EP57848
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This thesis, written by
under the direction of h Faculty Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fulfill
ment of the requirements for the degree of
RTS.
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Date.
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7*i
y CKtfirman ^
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED . . . 1
The problem................................. 1
Statement of the problem ................. 1
Importance of the study................... 2
Definitions of terms used ................... 3
Mural.............. 3
Water color . . . ....................... 4
Dining room............................... 4
Modern design ............................. 4
Organization of remainder of the thesis . . . 5
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE..................... 7
Literature on mural painting .............. 7
Literature on modern interior design and
architecture . . . . . 20
Limitations of previous studies ............ 23
III. THE METHOD OF PROCEDURE BEFORE DETERMINING
SIZE AND STYLE OF MURAL ..................... 26
The architectural style of the home........ 27
The furnishings u s e d ....................... 30
The color scheme employed In the room . . . . 32
Illumination of the r o o m .............. . . . 34
Dimensions necessary for the mural ........ 34
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Photographs of the room.................... . 55
IV. PRELIMINARY SKETCHES ................... 58
Scale drawings of wall area and various sized
rectangular units toward selection of size
of mural .................. 59
Style and subject m a t t e r .............. 41
Various sketches for design of mural panel . 42
First approval of patrons................... 52
Second approval of patrons ................. 55
V. THE PAINTING OF THE MURAL..................... 58
Color scheme evolved . 58
Third approval of patrons................... 60
Cartoon transferred to water color paper . . 61
The type of art materials u s e d ............ 62
Painting of mural........................... 65
VI. THE COMPLETION OF THE MURAL ........... 66
Type of protection or framing of mural . . . 66
The mural in p l a c e ......................... 70
Final approval............................. 70
VII. SUMMARY M B CONCLUSIONS....................... 72
Summary ............................... 72
Conclusions................................. 79
BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................ 82
LIST OF PLATES
PLATE PAGE
I. A Section of the Dining Alcove and Living
Room, Part of the HIspano Mooresque Table
over Which the Mural Would Be Placed, Show
ing How the Spectator if Seated In the
Alcove Would View the Mural as Well as from
the Viewpoint of the Living Room.......... 88
II. A View of the Dining Alcove, Showing the
Small Dining Tables, the Flowers, the
Tapa Cloth on the Wall, the Ankor Vat, and
Balinese Figures, All Imparting an Integral
Character to the R o o m .................... 89
III. A View of the Area to be Decorated, Showing
the Overhead Lighting and the Hispano
Mooresque Table. The Characteristic
Decoration is Evident— the Polynesian War
Shield, the Decorative Screen, the
Samovar................................... 90
IV. A View of the Rounded Corner Fire Place,
Showing the Informal Lounge, the Grass Rug,
the Rattan Chairs, and the Use of Decorative
Grey-Blue Acacia Leaves in the Spun
Aluminum Jar ............................. 91
A View of the Living Room, Showing the
V
PLATE PAGE
Large Expanse of Windows and the Simple
Modern Furniture as Well as the Contrast
of the Walls............................... 92
VI. A View of the Adjoining Bedroom, Showing
the Treatment of the Doorway and the
Manner in Which one Room Flows into the
Other, thus Affording a View of the
Proposed Mural from Another Room.......... 93
VII. Another View of a Section of the Wall to
he Decorated, Showing the Strong Horizontal
Lines of the Grass Rug in Relation to the
T a b l e ..................................... 9k
VIII. A Sketch of Fruit, Leaves, and Trees....... 95
IX. A Sketch of Fruit, Leaves, Flowers, and
Tree Trunks, with the Tree Trunks Kept in
the Background............................. 96
X. A Sketch of a Rather Surrealistic Landscape
of Rolling Hills and a Winding Path,
with Fruit and Flowers..................... 97
XI. The Sketch that Evolved out of the Previous
Drawings. A Dreamlike Fantasy of Fruit,
Flowers, Trees, Leaves, and Earth, to be
Used as the Large Central P a n e l .......... 98
XII. A Sketch of Yellow Water-Iris with Fruit and
VI
PLATE PAGE
Leaves to be a Subsidiary Panel on One
Side of the Large Central P a n e l ........... 99
XIII. An Arrangement of Lemon Leaves, with Fruit
and Leaves in the Foreground, to be Used
as a Subsidiary Panel to the Large
Central Panel ............... 100
XIV. A Sketch for the large Central Panel,
Showing Some Phases of the Everyday
Pursuits of the Balinese, and the Tropical
Vegetation................................. 101
XV. A Sketch of Two Balinese Dancers Performing
the "legong"..................................102
XVI. A Sketch of a Male Dancer Performing the
Hkebiyar,*’ Supported by Two Balinese
Musicians with Their Typical Instruments . . 103
XVII. A Sample of Reeves1 French Water Color
Paper . . ..................................104
XVIII. A Sample of Finely Woven Grass Cloth,
Off White C o l o r ..............................105
XIX. A Sample of Grass Cloth Very Finely Woven
and of Cream Color............................106
XX. A Sample of a New Wall Material Called
"Fab-Hi-Kan*1 Wall Canvas, Showing the
Appearance of Water Color onI t .............. 107
V JL..L
PLATE PAGE
XXI. A Sample of the Grass Cloth with a Small
Painted Pattern and an Edge Bound in
Cellophane T a p e ..............................108
XXII. The Corrected Sketch of the Central Panel,
Showing an Arrangement of Larger Pagodas
on the Left, Masses of Leaves Across the
Sky, and Added Vegetation. The Palm;
Trees Were Omitted........................... 109
XXIII. The Corrected Sketch for the f,legong,,T
Showing Intricate, Formalized Plants and
the Change in Position of the Dancer on the
Right, Also the Elaborately Designed
Costumes......................................110
XXIV. The Corrected Sketch of the f*kebiyar,"
Showing the Change in Facial Position and
the More Architectonic Foliage...............Ill
XXV. A View of the Revised Sketches Pinned on the
Wall, Showing How the Size and Design
Carried in the Room. . . . .j ..................112
XXVI. A Photograph of the Completed Color Sketch,
Showing the Values but Unfortunately not
the C o l o r ....................................113
XXVII. A View of the Color Sketch in Relation to the
Wall Area and the T a b l e .......... 114
VI11
PLATE PAGE
XXVIII. A View of the Chalk Sketch Planked by the
Two Finished Water Color Panels. A Sense
of Heightened Value is Evident in the
Water Colors. The Chalk is Softer, Less
Definite. The Relationship of the Over
head Lighting to the Panel is Seen...........115
XXIX. The Completed and Framed Mural Hung in
Place on the W a l l ............................116
XXX. A Photograph of the Framed Mural, Showing
the Type of Framing...................... 117
