THAT PainterLady.com

I have created a wall mural in my son’s room with acrylic paint.

Unfortunately the often moist fingers of a 1 year old seem to smudge the mural. Do you know what I should use to coat and protect it without smudging it in the process? Any help would be appreciated before my hard work becomes finger paint! Thank you!

Hi… I let Dawn… one of the new “expert” painter ladies take on your
question. She has small children and so has lot’s of experience in this
area:

In order to protect a mural painted with acrylic or even latex paints,
use a water based varnish. It comes in flat or matte finishes, which
have no sheen but are still washable, or satin finish which has a slight
sheen.

There are a few different companies that make this, so check out your
local paint store first to see if they carry it. Otherwise you can
order it online.

I would apply it with a brush evenly over the mural in a cross hatch x
motion. You can also add a little bit of water to the varnish to thin
it a bit and extend it.

It can be expensive and this will help it to last longer so you don’t
have to buy as much. I would suggest doing two coats, let dry for at
least an hour between coats.

Great question…. Good Luck Dawn and Debra

How do you recommend painting clouds on the ceiling? I used glaze 4:1 with white paint and then tinted some a little gray for shadows. But the ceiling clouds look too heavy.

I used a sea sponge…and a badger brush to blend.

photo credit: bookish in north park(mostly away)

Hello Sandy.

Clouds can be really fun or they can be an all out frustration and killer on the neck. My number one suggestion before doing any job is to try it out on a sample board first. Figure out how much paint you should apply and how much you need to blend.

If the clouds are coming out too heavy, then you will need to lighten up on how much paint/glaze you are applying.

If it already too late, which it seems like that is where you are at now, there is a trick (my favorite that I use ALL the time). Take your blue base color that you painted the ceiling with and mix it with glaze. Brush it on in areas where the clouds are too heavy and then blend.

As far as the badger hair brush, it is definitely the softest haired brush available, but it doesn’t always work well.

MODERN MASTERS 92291 BBS3 3″ BADGER HAIR SOFTENER DECORATIVE PAINTERS SPECIALTY BRUSH

I like to use a regular 1 1/2″ dry brush and blend using that.

I also like to use the woolie to blend with gives a very soft color-washed look to the clouds. This may be your best bet as far as a blending tool.

Woolie #100607 Lambwool Faux Appl Tool

Also, make sure you are using a good quality glaze. If it isn’t, the open time will only be around 5 - 10 minutes and it will be dry before you can blend the color the way you want it.

You can also buy an extender to add to it which may give you a little more time. Never add water, this actually makes the glaze dry faster.

Click here for another article about painting clouds.

Well, I hope this helps. Good luck with it and be sure to send us pictures!! That Painter Lady - DAWN

Watercolor Walls Colorwash Kit - Cloudy Blue

The psychological aspects of color are interesting because they go deep into the roots of human nature. It is important to know how to use certain colors in decorating schemes… especially when choosing paint colors for a room.

It is general knowledge that certain colors are known as advancing colors and that others are said to be retreating colors.

Red, orange and yellow are in the first category of advancing colors.

Blue and green are known as retreating colors.

The advancing and receding colors are mearly a matter of how color is “seen” by the retina in your eye. Not something you need to know why… just that it is!

They’re warm and cold (or cool) colors.

Warm colors are associated with natural objects that give the feeling of heat. Fire and sun for instance.

Cool colors are applied usually to those hues you see in natural objects that have an air of coolness about them. Water… snow… ice… shadows.

Plus.. you need to know that colors are affected by their exposure.

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about using the exposure of a room as a guide in color schemes.

If this were an infallible rule, all rooms with a northeast exposure would be painted in the warmest colors in order to counteract the chilly feel of a room which recieves so little sunlight.

All southwest facing rooms would be painted with blue or green in order to visually cool an area that receives more than it’s share of blazing summer sun.

Color Style: How to Identify the Colors That Are Right for Your Home

• Red is the color of fire and blood. Decoratively speaking, red is a color to be used judiciously. On too large areas it is overpowering, irritating. Used as an accent color, it tends to add life to less interesting surfaces.
• Green can be used successfully on an area of any size in any part of the house. Be careful, however, not to use too yellow a green on bathroom walls. Near the mirror where you face yourself in the morning, it has an unflattering effect on the complexion.
• It makes you Not So sure That You Feel Too Well!
• Blue is the color associated with sky and water. It is clear, cool and transparent. Blue is likely to lower your blood pressure and reduce pulse and respiration rate. The color blue, inspires peace and introspection.
• As a wall color, blue is used to the best advantage in rooms that receive sunlight.
• Purple is subduing, slightly melancholy. It is delicate and cool. The color purple often seems to us to be impressive, pompous and stately. Not used extensively in decoration, yet delicate grayed tints o purple are very beautiful on some walls.

Color Style: How to Identify the Colors That Are Right for Your Home

Click here for more information about Choosing colors for adjoining rooms.