WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

In 2022 KAB launched the inaugural Paint Australia Beautiful – Schools Competition aiming to inspire children to think more deeply about how they can care for the environment. They express their vision for the future through a mural art project. Primary schools around Australia submit a nature-based mural design to go in the running to win all the paint and supplies required to make their mural a reality. On submission, children explain how their mural reflects the natural environment and their school’s sustainability initiatives. The competition promotes creativity and hopes to educate younger Australians on how we can help conserve our flora and fauna by limiting our environmental impact. Design submissions are open throughout first term and in second term the murals are shortlisted by a judging panel with fair representation across all States and Territories. The shortlisted schools are then encouraged to share and promote their designs via social media for public voting amongst their school communities and then winners are announced in each state and territory. All winning murals are then completed by third term.

BRAINSTORM YOUR DESIGNS

With the Paint Australia Beautiful – Schools Competition officially opening soon, there’s lots to do, so we’ve put together a few notes to help you choose your wall, plan your design and paint your mural. Remember, how your primary school decides to represent the natural environment or sustainability themes in your mural design is completely up to you. Your mural might show a natural space that your community loves and recognises, or represent the things you think are most important when it comes to protecting the environment. We know students are great at coming up with creative ideas, so work together and put your pen, pencil or paint brush to paper. We suggest using at least an A3 piece of paper to give yourself plenty of room, and design in full colour. For your application, your primary school should upload a photograph of your proposed wall mural, along with an explanation about your mural design, and why it was chosen. Also upload a photo of the proposed blank wall / fence etc where the mural will be painted.

TIPS FOR PLANNING AND PAINTING YOUR MURAL

1. Your mural will hopefully be there for a long time, so think about a design that will stay relevant for your school and the environment in years to come.
2. Discuss what colours work best for your mural. Do you have school colours that you would like to use?
3. Think about the size of the wall and the size of your mural. For example, a small mural on a large wall may not be the best way to showcase your mural.
4. Also, think about the surface of your wall. This will impact the preparation you’ll need to do before painting your mural.

EXPLORING COLOUR

With thousands of colours to choose from, finding the perfect selection for your mural can seem tricky at first. We probably all know that red and white make pink and red and yellow make orange. There are many colours you can make by simply mixing colours together.

Paint selection tip

Keep in mind, choosing more colours generally means you’ll need smaller amounts of that colour, and therefore smaller size cans. It’s always economical to purchase larger cans, so try to use your colour wheel if you need to create multiple shades of the one colour.

WHERE WILL YOU PAINT YOUR MURAL?

It’s important to choose your wall prior to creating your design, for two reasons. Firstly, the wall size will determine the dimensions of your submitted design, and secondly, understanding your wall surface and how paint is applied and absorbed may impact the level of detail and the number of colours used in your designs. From 2026, you can now choose to paint your mural on external or internal walls – as long as the criteria is met. This means that schools who have previously been excluded can now consider entering a hallway, library, quadrangle or hall wall. Reach out if you need clarification to admin@kab.org.au