For the beginning Mural artist, knowing some simple tips that professionals learn through years of experience can really save on time and energy. Here are ten tips to get you past that beginner stage.

1. If you are not lucky enough to be painting on a wall with a satin or gloss finish, you may wish to paint the wall first with a clear glaze to allow paint to flow from your brush more smoothly.

2. Using a projector to trace out your images saves lots of time and allows you to have a perfectly proportional picture. This also allows you to choose proper placement and you can blow it up as big as you like. Make sure you don't skimp on this item when it comes to pricing. Expect to pay 400.00 to 500.00 for a decent projector with stand.

3. Use white chalk when drawing or tracing on a dark surface. Clean up white chalk lines easily with baby wipes.

4. Use stryofoam plates as your painting palette. It makes for easy cleanup...just throw them away when you are done.

5. Try using Paint Pens when you have to be more precise when painting lines.

6. If you are tired of cleaning paint out of your fingernails, wear latex gloves when painting. If you change paints, change your gloves so you don't transfer the wrong color paint to the wall. Also, if you have to leave the room, toss the gloves and you have nice clean hands....although a bit sweaty!

7. Buy a small scaffold type ladder on castor wheels. It makes a great table for your paints that you can wheel around with you when you are not actually using it to stand on.

8. Keep a wet rag handy or baby wipes to catch any drips before you get a nice dried blob on the wall where it shouldn't be.

9. Make sure you tell your clients that you have to work in stages, so they can expect what I call an "ugly stage". Sometimes I have started to paint trees with only the trunks and limbs to come back another day to paint in the foilage and clients thought I was going to leave it that way. They were pleasantly relieved in the end. This will help to calm their fears and to have faith in your work.

10. Make sure you buy a radio or mp3 player with some headphones. I have had clients watch me paint every inch of their mural which can be very distracting. Make sure they know you can't hear a thing with the headphones on. This will keep the stress level to a minimum for you.

Silverspoon Murals serves the Tampa Bay Area with Custm, Wall Murals, Trompe L'Oeil, Children's Theme Rooms and Faux Finishing. Visit our website for Mural Samples and Pricing.

Related Articles: