Tell me your idea
Even if the idea is still vague, we work on it together. Write to me on WhatsApp or by email, I reply within 48 hours.
Óbidos
Mural Artist in Óbidos
In Óbidos, Giulia Dal Bon paints murals with a brush, in houses, guest houses, workshops, restaurants and shops. Trained at the Brera Academy, she paints on site, from 150 € per square metre. Free quote within 48 hours, two sketches included: you approve the design before Giulia paints.
Contact Giulia
Tell me your idea, and I will be glad to reply.
The price of a mural in Óbidos
| Simple motif or line drawingFine lines for flowers, patterns, silhouettes or figures… | 150 €/sqm |
|---|---|
| Fully painted subjectColours and shadows for landscapes, portraits or scenes… | 250 €/sqm |
| Trompe-l’oeil or ceilingThe wall opens onto a false window, a sky on the ceiling or an entire landscape… | 350 €/sqm |
| Exterior facade: if needed, scaffolding is added to the quote. | |
Free quote within 48h
Surface and technique set the price; interior or exterior, the condition of the wall, the height, any scaffolding and the timing are then written into the quote.
Where to start?
When you contact me about a mural in Óbidos, here is what happens next.
A photo of the wall with the sketch
Send me a photo of the wall and I draw a sketch straight onto your photo. You tell me what you think. The first two sketches are free.
The quote
Once the sketch is approved, I send you the quote and we set the date together.
I paint the wall
I come and paint at your place in Óbidos, by brush, and the place stays open while I work.
Murals in Óbidos
Óbidos is a walled medieval town north of Lisbon, keeping inside its walls whitewashed houses, Manueline doorways, flowered windows and small squares. On 11 December 2015 UNESCO recognised it as a City of Literature in its Creative Cities Network; the Vila Literária initiative had begun in 2011 to regenerate the historic centre through events, from the medieval market to opera. In Óbidos, Giulia paints the walls of village houses, venues and guesthouses.
What Giulia brings to Óbidos. Here a whole town was regenerated by culture: the choice was to fill its spaces with books and events. Giulia works in the same spirit at a smaller scale, with hand-painted work that gives a wall its character. She defines each mural with the person who entrusts it to her. Giulia is a painter, trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. She exhibits her paintings in art galleries and also paints on walls. Corriere della Sera, Domus and Sky Arte have written about her work, and her mural of over twenty metres dedicated to Gaber and Jannacci can be seen in Milan. The wall is her favourite canvas because it truly becomes part of a place, a unique work made to tell your story.
What Giulia brings to Óbidos
Josefa de Óbidos, baptised in Seville on 20 February 1630 and buried in Óbidos on 22 July 1684, is one of the most prolific painters of the Portuguese baroque: around 150 works are attributed to her. In 1661 she painted six canvases for the altarpiece of Saint Catherine in the church of Santa Maria, here in the town, and in the same period won the right to sign her own contracts.
In Óbidos, then, a woman made her living from painting in a town of a thousand people, in the seventeenth century. Giulia Dal Bon paints there with a brush, in the white houses inside the walls, the pousadas, the restaurants and the shops, using odourless acrylic indoors and quartz paint on facades. From 150 € per sqm, free quote within 48 hours.
Live painting is available in Óbidos too. Giulia arrives with canvas and paints, works through a festival, an opening, a concert or a wedding, and the painting is yours at the end of the evening. From 950 € for a wedding, from 400 € for a performance. See live painting →
Your questions, before commissioning
A photo of the wall, its approximate dimensions and the idea you have in mind are enough to receive a quote.
How much does a mural cost in Óbidos?
The rate is per square metre: €150 for a line drawing or a simple motif, €250 for a fully painted subject, €350 for a trompe l’oeil or ceiling. The quote is free: see all prices.
How do I get a mural painted in my home in Óbidos?
Write to Giulia Dal Bon on WhatsApp or by email, even if the idea is still vague: she replies within 48 hours. Send her a photo of the wall to be painted, she draws a sketch straight onto your photo, you tell her what you think, and the first two sketches are free. Once the sketch is approved, she sends you the quote, from 150 € per sqm in Óbidos, and sets the date with you. She then comes and paints the mural at your place in Óbidos, by brush, and the place stays open while she works.
What does the price of a mural in Óbidos include?
With Giulia Dal Bon, the price per square metre includes the paint and materials, the first two sketches and the protective varnish as a finish. While she paints, you tell her what you think, and she adjusts. Added to the quote, when needed, are the scaffolding for a facade and travel costs, agreed together. The quote is free and arrives within 48 hours; a deposit of about 100 € for materials confirms the date, and the balance is settled at the end.
I’d like a mural or a painting on a wall of my home in Óbidos, who should I contact?
Giulia Dal Bon, a painter trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. She paints murals by brush in homes, bedrooms, bathrooms, on terraces, pool walls and facades, and travels in Óbidos as she does across Europe. Send her a photo of the wall, its approximate dimensions and your idea, however loose: she replies within 48 hours with a quote and a first proposal. The first two sketches are free.
Can I see a design before commissioning the mural?
Always. You receive a sketch set on a photo of your own wall, to scale, together with the quote. The first two sketches are free: Giulia shows the work in progress, you give your opinion, and she adjusts. You confirm when you are ready.
Will a mural damage the wall?
The paint goes onto the plaster already in place. In most cases a dusting down is all that is needed before starting. If the surface has cracks or rising damp, Giulia points it out before quoting and proposes the preparation required. Indoors she uses an odourless acrylic: a child’s bedroom in use or a restaurant that stays open can both be painted. An acrylic mural can later be painted over like any wall paint, if you change your mind in ten years.
When is the best time to paint a mural in Óbidos?
All year round. Indoors the odourless acrylic lets the room stay in use while she works, in January as in July. Outdoors she needs a dry wall and a mild temperature. Giulia sets the date with you when she quotes, within 48 hours, and gives plenty of notice if the schedule moves.
Can a view of Óbidos be painted on a wall?
Yes, and the city lends itself to it. The walls encircling the village, the whitewashed houses edged in blue and yellow, the bougainvillea and the castle at the top. Giulia Dal Bon works with a brush, on the wall itself. A line-drawn view is 150 € per sqm, the same view fully painted from 250 €. Free quote within 48 hours.
What subject works well for a mural in Óbidos?
In Óbidos, the whitewashed houses lend themselves to botanical motifs, figurative subjects or a restrained trompe l’oeil. Everything is painted with a brush, in odourless acrylic.
What is the difference between a hand-painted mural and spray-painted graffiti?
They are two different crafts. A graffiti artist works with spray cans, with a fast gesture and a graphic finish. A brush-painted mural is built layer by layer, which allows gradients, fine detail and trompe l’oeil: it is a painting made directly on the wall. Indoors, Giulia uses odourless acrylic. And while she paints, people take the time to watch: a brush at work is a show in itself. The choice depends on the finish you are after.
What do you call an artist who paints on walls?
The craft is called mural painting, and the person who practises it is a muralist, a mural artist or a decorative painter. Giulia Dal Bon comes from the brush rather than the spray can: trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, she exhibits her paintings in art galleries and paints by hand, in Óbidos as elsewhere in Europe. For a mural in Óbidos, a photo of the wall is enough to begin, and the quote arrives within 48 hours.
Does a mural hold up outdoors in Óbidos?
Yes, with surface preparation and paints made for outdoor use. Atlantic humidity calls for a well-prepared surface and quartz paint. Choosing the paint and the surface for an outdoor wall in Óbidos is explained in the guide Which paint, which wall, how long it lasts.
Do I need permission to paint a facade in Óbidos?
An interior wall can be painted freely. For a facade visible from the street, you generally need the owner’s or building association’s agreement, and a notice to the municipality if the building sits in a protected zone: many buildings in the historic centre are protected. Giulia explains the process before starting.
How long does it take to paint a mural?
It depends on the surface, the level of detail and how easy the wall is to reach. Giulia gives the timing with the quote, within 48 hours, and gives plenty of notice if the schedule moves. The place keeps running while she works: the acrylic is odourless.
How long does a mural last?
The murals Giulia Dal Bon paints last a lifetime indoors: the paint becomes part of the plaster and lives as long as the wall. Outdoors, quartz paint is made for facades, and an anti-salt or anti-pollution varnish extends it further. And if one day you want a change, it can be painted over like any wall paint.
Other spaces
The other places Giulia paints, her portfolio and the towns nearby.
Homes and villas
A bedroom, a hallway, a staircase: the walls you look at every day.
A mural for your home
Restaurants, hotels and boutiques
A painted wall gives the room its character, and the place stays open while she works.
A mural for your restaurant
Other cities
Giulia also works in these other European cities.
All the cities
Giulia also travels to Caldas da Rainha, Peniche, Nazaré, Alcobaça, Bombarral, Lourinhã, Torres Vedras, Foz do Arelho, Baleal and São Martinho do Porto.
The 20-metre-plus wall for Gaber and Jannacci, in Milan, in the press
Giulia Dal Bon, trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan.
Where Giulia works in Óbidos
In Óbidos, she paints on an interior wall : the living room, the bedroom and the kitchen. She paints the bathroom, the entrance and the hallway just as readily. A ceiling is painted like a wall, working overhead. Outside, she switches to quartz paint on the exterior facade. In a rented place, she paints on a mobile panel that you take with you.
The venues that welcome her in Óbidos range from apartment to boutique, with hotel in between.
Neighbourhoods: Walled town.
A wall can carry a landscape, a floral or botanical motif, lettering, a painted sign. A ceiling takes a sky. A perspective trompe-l’oeil opens a window or a corridor on a solid wall. Giulia also paints figures and animals, and reproduces a work on request.
Possible subjects in Óbidos: the bougainvillea and the castle at the top, the walls encircling the village, the whitewashed houses edged in blue and yellow. Alongside these, a trompe-l’oeil window, a botanical motif or a painted sky remain possible.
The craft goes by several names, and each of them is right about something. Mural and wall mural speak of the wall, wall decoration and mural decoration speak of the room, decorative painting speaks of the gesture, trompe-l’oeil speaks of the effect. A hand-painted wall, a drawing on a wall, a painting made directly on the wall: still the same thing. In Óbidos, it is called a mural artist, a muralist, a wall artist, a decorative painter.
On 11 December 2015 UNESCO recognised Óbidos as a City of Literature in its Creative Cities Network.
Giulia also travels throughout Portugal.
Where the mural can find its place
- In a period apartment, Giulia paints the living room, the bedroom, the entrance and the ceiling. From €150 per m², free quote within 48h.
- For a hotel or a boutique, Giulia paints the reception wall, the storefront and the lounge. Free quote within 48h.
- Giulia also travels throughout Portugal.