Painting Your Kid's Mural, Steps 4-8

Step 4

Use high quality paint brushes. The less experience you've had as a painter
the more helpful good brushes will be.

Step 5

When mixing colors don't spare the white! Most paint mixtures for children’s murals should be more than half white paint. Using colors that are too dark or too bold is a huge beginnerís mistake. For me, using an unmixed color straight out of the jar is a rare event. I almost always cut a base color with white.

Step 6

If you're not experienced at mixing colors then I urge patience. Mix your
colors slightly lighter than you want them to look, then paint test swatches and
let them dry completely before applying the color to the mural. Almost all paints
darken a shade as they dry. It's my experience that blues tend to darken even
more than other hues.

Step 7

After you have painted your background colors--sky, fields, mountains--draw
the more detailed elements on the wall with chalk. Wipe off excess chalk with a
damp cloth.

Step 8

Most artists' acrylic paints will be far more durable than the average house
paint. If you think the walls are going to suffer considerable abuse you can roll
over the project with a clear, matte-finish varnish (also available at Nova Color).
Good luck!