A mural is a painting or other work of art executed directly on wall Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. There are many different styles and techniques. The best-known is probably fresco, which uses water-soluble paints with a damp lime wash, rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts (but with a sense of the whole).

A painting can be done on a kind of paper, canvas, wall, natural material like bamboo using different colour materials with or without brushes or even without colour depending on technique and art form used by the artist. Like all creative arts this is mostly at the prerogative of artist.