Originally uploaded by THAT Painter Lady.

Lots of people write in for ideas. They want ideas on what to paint their walls.  What color they should paint their cabinets.  What to paint in their dining room.  While we LOVE helping people it’s really hard to tell someone else what to paint on their walls for a number of reasons.

#1 – We aren’t THERE.  We can’t see your home and get a feel for your tastes and likes and how the light comes in the windows and what the accessories look like.  Those are all things you consider when you’re going to paint a room.  We often look for colors in the things in the room.  The bedspread, the couch, the paintings…

And #2 – If someone writes in and says, “Hey – I want to paint my son’s room. “  I can easily shoot back an answer.  Let’s say….PURPLE!   But what if the boy’s room is decorated with denim and southwestern style furniture.  ?!  Purple isn’t really gonna end up looking right.  And YOU won’t be real happy with us.  Lol!  We really dislike it when people aren’t real happy with us.  Really…dislike. 

So…where do you get inspired?  Friends houses?  Your mom?  Magazines?  Do you need inspiration?  Don’t hesitate to ask, but it would help if you include pictures.  So we can see what’s going on in the room…near the room…around the room.  But we aren’t you’re only source of inspiration.  Nope…there are lots of places WE go to for inspiration.  Yes, even we need to be inspired now and then. 

What do we do?  We almost ALWAYS go to book stores and look through the books on painting rooms.  Design books, kids rooms, faux finishing books, mural books, trompe l’oeil books.  They are all CHALK FULL of GREAT ideas!

Another place is in your kids books.  You love ‘em.  They love ‘em.  Why not look to them for inspiration?  Debra chose a kids room mural that she painted for the local woman’s shelter by looking through books and combining ideas.  It’s really such a great way to get inspired.  Don’t you think that giraffe is adorable?  She found it in a book!  Here’s part of her story:

“I stripped wallpaper for a few days before I could paint. They originally couldn’t get the wallpaper to stick on the walls at the shelter, so the gals used Super Glue to paste up the wallpaper. You might think that was a good idea until it needed to be stripped. The wallpaper came of in tiny little bits. What a mess!  Horrible horrible mess…”

Can you imagine?  Gads…

It was a cool job… click on Giraffe Mural to see all the pictures of this room that Debra painted at the shelter as one of her annual volunteer/donation jobs.  They’re fun and one of them you might recognize!

Where do you go for inspiration?

Questions about how to paint a mural come up often. It’s kind of a difficult question to answer when it’s such a vague question like “How do I Paint a Mural”.   Lol!    Right?   Reminds me of my teaching days.

But when you ask a question about a specific portion or painting technique for murals…well, I can answer – most – with some ease and clarity.  Keep in mind I said “most”.    I do get stumped now and then.  Shocking…I know…  Lol!!

Anyway…thought I’d share a recent letter with my answers in case anyone else wants to paint a faded mural.  I’ve got three of them in my house!    So here’s the email I got:

Hi Tawn -

I have really enjoyed your tips and expertise.  Thank you very much for sharing so much with me.

I recently did some faux painting in our living room.  I dragged  5″ wide vertical stripes just a few shades darker than the base.  This goes around the entire room about 3/4 of the way down and stops at a chair rail.  I just love the soft effect!  It is barely noticeable but there.  Love it because of it’s subtlety.

Now I would like to paint a soft floral design around the top of the walls.  How do I do this?  I’d like it to be soft and muted.  Look sort of worn and faded.  Barely there.  You know, subtle.  Do you have any tips?

Thanks so much ~
Cheryl

So…have you done this before?  Painted a “faded” mural?  If you have – make sure you leave any tips you have in the comments for the rest of us!    I’ve got something similar to this in my kitchen, but I’ve also done this sort of thing in many homes and some businesses.  Piece o’ cake!!  Here’s what I told Cheryl.

Hi Cheryl:

Your faux finish sounds WONDERFUL!  Love it!  Now for the mural – FUN!

If you are using stencils to paint a mural:

For a faded look – I use the oil based stencil paints and with a stencil brush.  Then apply a tiny haze of color.  Like blush or a light powdering on your face.  Some openings will have color on one side and none on the other.  Like half a leaf or petal blended and faded to nothing.

Use less color than you think you need.

The other way to do it is to – again – use less color than you think you need – then leave it alone for a little bit.  Before it dries take a soft cloth or even a paper towel and wipe away some of the color.

If the mural painting is tooo bright when you finish:

Use original wall color (your base color) with glaze to “haze over” the painting.  Thin your paint with glaze and lightly apply to your mural.  You can do this with a sponge or a dry brush.

If you are painting on the mural with brushes:

Here is a tip I use – Draw the art on with water color pencils (this tip will only work on lighter colored walls).  Use the different colors – like greens for leaves.

Then with an artist brush – I use an oil painting brush because the bristle is stiff (like a filbert style) and brush over the top of the drawing with water only.  Just dampen the brush.  It will blend the colors like a water color.  It is really beautiful and so easy.  Very soft.  If you need more color in a flower or ??  Just draw again and blend with more water.

If you use straight paint – Don’t go too heavy.  Very thin.  Like watercolor.  Donna Dewberry style flowers are hard to have look faded.   If you get too heavy use the same idea as above and “haze over” them to “fade” them out.

I’ve stenciled faux painted walls with heavy color and had the stencil fade in and out around the walls.  It is tricky to paint a mural to look old and faded with bright heavy color.  That’s not to say it can’t be done…it can.  But it is a pain. 

I like to paint a mural that is EASY and fun!  No one likes a “painful” mural.  Lol!

Hope this helps.  Now get out there and splash some paint around!

This fun exterior mural tells a story. The story of color with a hint of whimsy is apparent – but do you get the feeling of an old private courtyard secluded from the noisy street beyond?

If you are the creative type… you will want to know what type of exterior mural paint and varnish I used. If you don’t to try painting anything so elaborate… you may just want to incorporate a few of these details into your own private space.

Exterior Mural Paint and Varnish

I’ve never used any special paints for exterior murals. I used a combination of normal exterior latex house paint and regular acrylic craft paints.

The mural you see here is never exposed to direct sunlight or snow/rain does not touch the surface. I did protect the surface with a Dead-Flat Varnish. It works especially well and the flat finish is perfect for exterior walls.

Exterior Mural Details

Looking closer you can see that I added a mirror for depth and the feeling of looking through a wall to an exterior street scape.

The Peach – Fushia vines drape over the mirror…  and the fillagree iron on either end of the mirror is layered over another painted landscape.  All these painted details are used to give depth and create a sense of reality – even it’s only for an instant.

The old wood frame and iron cross are layed over a sky colored square… all in attempt to create another view or window to look through.

The hanging plant is entirely fake. Even the nail and iron hanger is all paint.

Amazing things can be accomplished with exterior mural paint ideas.  This frothy exterior mural would also be perfect in an indoor sun-room.

Protect your work with Dead-Flat Varnish – Quart

It can be quite expensive to hire a professional mural painter.  So many of us have a bit of talent and would like to attempt painting a mural ourselves, but just don’t know where to start.  I would like to help you become more confident and give you a few tips on how to Do It Yourself.

Here is a question that a reader sent in earlier this week.

“I am in the process of doing a wall mural for the kids area of a church. I draw & love to do water colors but never painted on a wall. I need tips as to how to proceed, the type of paints to utilize & smart techniques. I am considering a noahs ark theme or a garden of eden kind of concept. Is there a site that has illustrations/demos?”

photo credit: danielle_blue

As a beginner, painting a wall mural can be intimidating.  But it really doesn’t have to be if you have done your research and you are prepared.

Here area few simple steps for you to follow in order to be ready to “Get Your Paint On”.

1.  Gather Reference Pictures – Take some time to research the subject matter of what you will be painting.  In your case, you will be painting either a Noah’s Ark or Garden of Eden theme.  Choose one theme and then do a Google image search.  For instance, if you choose to do the Noah’s Ark theme, then search with these words – “Noah’s Ark Murals”.   You will find so many great ideas this way.  Print out your favorites and use them as reference for you to choose the different elements and colors that you would like to include in your mural.

2.  Purchase Materials -  Now that you are set on a theme, you will need to gather your materials for the job.  Here is a list of things that you will need.

• Drop Cloths
• Brushes (all different sizes)
• Small Roller
• Acrylic Paint (take your reference picture with you to make sure you get all the colors that you need)
• Latex Paint (I use this for all my background painting.  It is easiest to roll on those areas – cuts your painting time in half)
• Bucket for water to clean brushes between colors
• Roll of Paper Towels / Rags to dry brushes
• Table to work off of
• Medium – this helps keep acrylic paints movable
• Overhead Projector – this is one of my favorite items to use and it is great for beginners to get an image on paper onto a wall keeping the exact proportions.  All you have to do is trace the outline and fill it in with paint.  So eas, especially when doing cartoon characters, animals, and other designs.

Overhead Projector, 2500 Lumens, 14-1/4 x 16-3/4 x 28

3.  Organize your Materials. I always like to set the stage before I start painting.  I make sure I have a very organized work space and that everything is easily accessible.  I have all my paints in one bin, all my brushes in another.  I have drop cloths laid out and my bucket of water ready.

4.  Start Painting the Background. Like I said, the best way to paint the background is by rolling it on.  If you are painting a landscape, for instance, land & sky.  Start at the top with the sky – roll it out and then do the bottom.

5.  Project images onto the wall. Trace the outline onto the wall with a soft pencil.  You don’t want the lines to be visible under the paint, so press lightly when doing the outline.  You can also use watercolor pencils which blend well once painted.  I sometimes even use chalk on darker base colors.

6.  Get Your PAINT on!!! Use your reference pictures and paint away!

This should help you get started at least.  If you are still unsure of yourself, you may want to practice with your paints on a sample board.  But really, the best tool to use for a beginner is the overhead projector. Good luck all you DIYers out there!  You can do it!!