Murals by Missy - The Blog

The most common questions that I'm asked by clients have to do with the paint I use. Occassionally, I will use latext paint or MyColor inspired by Pantone to cover large areas, but for most murals, I use Golden Fluid Acrylics exclusively. Here's why:

- Golden Acrylics are water soluble, which means that I don't need to use harsh solvents in your home or business.

- Acrylic paints dry quickly. Paint that has been applied to the wall will be dry to the touch within an hour, and completely cured in 24 hours.

- Golden Acrylics are virtually odor-free. This paint has very little to no odor, so it is safe to use in children's bedrooms. This combined with drying time means that your child will be able to sleep in his or her beautiful new room the very same night it has been painted!

- Acrylic paint is permanent and water resistant, which means they are easy to clean. Once the paint is completely cured, it is like a very thin film of plastic adhered to the wall. It can be cleaned with a warm, damp cloth to remove dust and dirt. I have even used a Magic Eraser very gently to clean crayon, marker, and scuff marks from a mural.

- Golden Acrylics are fade resistant and color fast. This means that the colors are manufactured stay true to the day they were painted. These paints are professional artist paints which are made to be archival.

- Golden Acrylics are clearly labeled to adhere to safety regulations. I do not use any colors that are marked with an "X" to indicate harmful. Click here for more information.

- It's sad to admit it, but there may come a time when a mural has to be painted over. Acrylic paint can be covered with regular primer/latex house paint. Because I use fluid paint, there are very few brush strokes in my work, which means minimal sanding is required.

I hope that this article has helped to answer some basic questions regarding my paint. I've spent many hours researching and experimenting to find the best paint possible to work with, and the best paint for my clients. If you have any further questions about my materials or process, please feel free to send me an email.

Please note: All images on this site are property of Missy Sheldrake and cannot be used or reproduced without express permission of the artist.

April was a great month for painting, as you can see from my gallery. I added four new murals over the course of the month, the most exciting of all was My Gym in Chantilly. My Gym is a great place for kids to go and spend all of their energy. The kids have lots of fun climbing, jumping, running, and doing gymnastics. my Gym's staff is friendly and fun, and their creativity makes every week a new, exciting experience for the kids. The mural I painted there was the largest to date: 19 feet long! Click on the picture below to see the My Gym gallery.

In addition to My Gym, I finished a gorgeous hydrangea kitchen border, a Sleeping Beauty and Unicorn room, and a Cityscape in chalkboard paint.

The most exciting news for April is that I'm now officially licensed in Fairfax! If you're considering a mural, please don't hesitate to send me an email. I'll be happy to work with you to design a mural that brings the perfect personal touch to your space and fits your budget. Thanks for reading up on what's new here at Murals by Missy, I hope to hear from you soon!

Missy Sheldrake

The coming two weeks are going to be pretty exciting around here for me. This month, I'm working on some murals which are being painted specifically for my portfolio. First, I'll be doing a pair of 4ft x 6ft murals in a girls' room. One of these will be a scene with unicorns, and the other will be Sleeping Beauty. Here are the color boards for these:

The girls are really excited abut this project, and so am I!

Next, I'm very excited to announce my first public mural which is currently in the planning stages. This mural will be at My Gym in Chantilly, VA. You can check out their website here.

Here's the color board for My Gym:

This mural will be 19ft long by 10ft tall and is the largest mural I have done to date! I'm really looking forward to working there, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. The coaches and owner there are a fantastic bunch of very fun, energetic people. It's going to be great!

Once My Gym is finished, I'll head back over to house #1 and do a chalkboard paint city scape for their three-year-old who loves Spiderman. I'll update with pictures of everything once things get rolling.

Thanks for visiting my website and reading about what's new! Don't forget to check out my gallery to view my latest abstract painting, too!

Evolution of a Mural: Part Two
In the last installment, I explained the planning process from consultation to color sketch. Now we get to the fun part: Wall prep and painting! Before we start, I’d like to say a word about the paints I use. All of my paints are water-based and lead-free. The acrylics that I work with have a very low odor which is barely noticeable. I use artist quality acrylic paints and latex—the latex does have an odor that’s a little more noticeable. Acrylic paints dry incredibly quickly, and this allows me to work very quickly to get the job done!


Wall Prep and Base Coat – Time: 2 hours
Prep for this wall was fairly simple. Wall prep is something that can easily be done by the client ahead of time, or I will be glad to do it myself and include the time in the commission. Two towel bars had been removed from this wall, so the holes were patched up and sanded, and the wall was washed down with mild soap and water, then dried. The background blue was then painted and left to dry. After the wall was relatively dry, I painted the basic background light in the water and sea floor.

Drawing – 1 hour
The next step is to translate the sketch onto the wall. For this mural I drew it in by eye, using a watercolor pencil. Watercolor pencils are cool because they show up nicely but can be wiped off easily with plain water. Here you can see the basic shapes sketched onto the wall. If I’m going to be leaving the mural at this point, I’ll usually go over the sketch with a thin line of paint so that it doesn’t accidentally get wiped off before I return.

Blocking In – 2 hours
This step is the most exciting to me, because you can really begin to see what the final wall is going to look like! Blocking in is when the mural finally begins to take shape. I use solid color to fill in the lines of my sketch and paint the basic forms. This really helps the detail work to go quickly. Once the blocking in is complete, I like to consult with the client to make sure everything looks right. I will either make a mental note or write directly on the wall with my watercolor pencil so I remember to make the changes requested. You can see in the pictures below that the turtles’ heads and flippers were a bit too green compared to the color sketch, so in this case I made a mental note to make those colors more accurate.

Detail Work – 18 hours
The detail work is the most time consuming and tedious, but also the most fun. This is when you can really see the mural coming to its finished state. Many times while painting a mural, I tend to add things here and there in this detail phase to add more interest to the piece. I always check with the client beforehand to make sure they agree with any changes I decide to make. In this case, I was my own client, so I really had fun adding some more fish, starfish, a seahorse, and a jellyfish! Please enjoy the pictures of this finished 8ft x 8ft mural!

To view more pictures of the finished Coral Reef mural, click here.

Welcome to my new website! MuralsbyMissy.com is a long-time dream come true…and I’m not finished yet! If you’re here at this point, it’s probably because you’re a family member, a friend of mine, or a friend of a friend. Hi! It’s my hope that in the weeks and months to come, there will be so many updates here that it’ll be hard for everyone to keep up.

I plan to add a gallery of paintings to the site as well, and finding a guestbook has proven a little difficult, so please offer your comments and suggestions here on the blog instead. My most exciting bit of news today is that I finally finished Wesley’s mural! You can view it here: http://www.muralsbymissy.com/safari.html I hope you’re as delighted by it as Wes is…now whenever I change him he points to the monkeys and makes monkey noises: “Oook oook oook!”

Now that that project is finished, I’m moving on to the bathroom. I’ll be sure to update here when I’m moving forward with that. Until then, take care and enjoy exploring the site!