The mural for Adelaide Zoo was designed by Lynette Arden and painted by Lynette and a group of dedicated Volunteers over the school holiday period January 2004. The area where the mural is displayed was at that stage used as a courtyard for the Adelaide Zoo Volunteers. it was also used for suppers for those taking part in the History Tours being run by Volunteers as part of History Month that year. The photos show progressive stages of the mural.
The area is now used by Keepers and Staff and no longer accessible to Volunteers.
PAINTERS AT WORK ON THE SOUTH AMERICAN RAINFOREST MURAL
DRAWINGS FOR THE ADELAIDE ZOO SOUTH AMERICAN RAIN FOREST MURAL
The method for constructing the mural.
- Lynette Arden took photographs of some of the animals and birds at Adelaide Zoo that were native to the South American rainforest. At that time the cottontop tamarins were free ranging in the zoo and very popular with visitors. The birds included were the scarlet macaws and sun conures. These creatures were native to South America.
- Cartoons from the photographs were drawn in Adobe Illustrator. Each bird and animal was drawn separately, with the colours marked so the volunteer painters would be able to proceed with accuracy.
- The individual Illustrator files were then assembled in one large drawing. Vegetation was added from typical rainforest plants of that area. Stencils were developed so the leaves could be stencilled on to the wall by painting through the stencils.
- The completed large file was able to be blown up to the exact size of the mural for each sheet of paper, as the Illustrator files remained sharp enough when translated into Adobe Photoshop and JPEG files.
- Volunteer painters used the blown up files to translate the work to the wall. Painters involved were: Lynette Arden, Angela Black, Stephanie ?, Barbara Jesser and Vivienne Tinning.
Lynette Arden 