Don't let thinking BIG scare you!

MURAL ON A WINDOWLESS WALL (ACRYLICS)

Want to add a unique touch to your house? Feeling brave and energetic?

Then why not try painting a mural?

The only difference between this and an ordinary painting is obviously size, so if you first sketch out what you plan to paint to scale on a sheet of paper, it looks far less scary.

Before you start, make sure that the wall surface is clean and sound.

Also find out what sort of paint has been used - is it oil or water-based?

If you use acrylics on an oil-based wall or piece of furniture, the paint won't adhere - as I found out when I began a mural for a client who assured me that the wall which I was to work on had been painted with an acrylic emulsion.

When I arrived on site next morning, to my utter horror the soft blue sky and clouds - which I'd spent the previous day working so hard on - had begun to form large cracks.
The entire surface had to be stripped down to the plaster (thankfully by the decorating company who were still working in the palace).

The ideal surface is one which has been painted with an ordinary acrylic wall paint as either artist's oils or acrylics will adhere well.

How to get the outline on the wall is a matter of preference. Some artists like the traditional method of resizing your design by squaring it up (there's lots of detailed descriptions of how to do this on the internet) while others prefer to use a photo projector to beam the outline onto the wall. The choice is yours.

Here are a few tips:

1) Collect all your paints and equipment together before you start and don't forget to have a pot of the base wall colour handy just in case you make a mistake and need to cover it up fast! ;-)

2) Try not to let anyone else see it till it begins to take shape. A comment such as "What's that supposed to be?" tends to dent the enthusiasm of most artists.

3) Make your first projects small - such as a flower "growing" in a pot - before you try to tackle life-sized false windows and doors.

So - start looking around now to find an area of your house needing a little extra "something". Get out those paints and brushes and unleash your inner creativity!

Oh and don't forget to send me photos of the results!