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.

Anyone who views my galleries will notice a very obvious theme in my work. I won’t deny it, I have a deep and profound love of fairies. Why do I love them? Maybe I was one in a past life. Something about the hidden magic found in nature really appeals to me. The idea of secret worlds filled with fluttering wings and sparkling fairy dust, where fragile figures tend to nature’s little tasks just speaks to my inner child in a way that no other concept really does. This is the magic that I strive to reach every time I head out for a consultation and gaze at a blank wall that a client has asked me to paint.

You can imagine my sheer joy when I arrived in Ashburn recently to consult with a client whose little girl was in love with Tinkerbell and her fairy friends. Now, I have a great deal of respect for copyrighted characters, especially Disney characters, and so I would never dream of painting a mural that would infringe on copyrights. I came up with my own design for the mural.

Here’s a fun aside for you. Before I became a mommy and a muralist, I used to sculpt fairies by hand, using polymer clay, mohair, and fabric scraps. I absolutely loved this, but changed gears when I became pregnant because I was cautious about the toxicity of the clay.

Aren’t they cute?!

Recently, I had the opportunity to do something a little different from my usual repertoire of pictorial murals. A client in South Riding was interested in having stripes painted in her daughter’s room to match her new bedroom set from Pottery Barn. During our consultation, she asked for pink walls with a horizontal brown stripe along the middle of the wall, edged in green. We poured over paint chips and the client selected the perfect colors for the effect she wanted. Here’s how I did it, from start to finish!

Step 1: Clean Up/Set Up
The first step is not very exciting. Since this home is a new construction, the existing paint was still fresh and the walls were clean. I started by wiping down the walls with a damp cloth, laying my dropcloths down to protect the carpet and furniture, and removing the faceplates from the switches and outlets in the room.

Step 2: Taping
The taping step is always tedious for me, since I love the painting part and just want to get to it! But it’s very important to do this step right, or the finished product will look sloppy and unprofessional. I taped up the baseboards. Then, using a laser level, I measured out the lines for my brown stripe and taped them very carefully. The white area left behind my tape would later act as a guide for my green stripes.

Also, I use Frog Tape, which leaves a very clean edge without damaging the paint or wall beneath it. You can find Frog Tape at any paint store—though I haven’t been able to find it at Home Depot.

Step3: Painting!
As a rule of thumb, I paint from top to bottom using a roller. I like to do as much as I can with a roller first, and then do the edging around doors, windows, and trim with a smaller brush. In this case, I worked on one half of the room at a time because I had to move the furniture around a little in between.

First I did the pink, and then I did the brown stripe in the middle. When masking with tape, I make sure to always apply the paint perpendicular to the tape’s edge to ensure a clean, crisp line. Also, I’m not afraid to put plenty of paint on my brush for good coverage.

As soon as I finished, I pulled the tape off at an angle to reveal a nice, crisp, white line underneath. It’s important to pull the tape off as soon as possible, or the tape could pull the dried paint off of the wall.

Then, I reinstalled all of the plates for the switches and outlets.

At this point, Day One is finished!

Step 4: Wait.
I listed waiting as a step because it’s very important! To avoid damaging the new paint job (and underlying wallboard) I waited a few days to move on to the next step. 48 hours is the recommended drying time in between steps, but I began on a Tuesday and came back the following Saturday.

Step 5: Painting more Stripes
Saturday, I arrived bright and early and began masking up the areas for the green stripes with my trusty Frog Tape using the white stripes left behind after Tuesday’s painting job as a guide.

The taping and painting for this part of the project only took about 2 hours, and when I pulled the tape off to reveal the finished wall, it was incredibly satisfying!

Step 6: Touch-Up
As I pull off the tape, I pay close attention to any areas that need touch-up, and mark those areas with a small piece of tape.

The final step of this job was to go around and carefully fix any imperfections to ensure a professional, clean-looking job. After the painting is completed, it’s important to wait a couple of days before hanging any pictures to be sure that the paint is cured, but it should be dry to the touch in just a few hours.

You can see pictures of the finished room in my mural gallery here:
http://muralsbymissy.com/pink1.html

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 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!

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.

Consultation – Time: 1 hour
The first step for any mural is to visit the site, measure walls, take photos, and discuss the subject matter. I work together with the client to visualize a design and during this time I take detailed notes. The consultation is the most important step in clarifying what the client wants so that I can create the magical environment they want! The client can provide as much or as little information or guidance as they want, and photos and other references are very helpful in this step. It’s also important to discuss color at this time. Should the colors of the mural coordinate with any textiles you have in the room? Will the flooring or wall color for the rest of the room be changing? All of these details are very important to the planning process.

For this mural, I wanted a coral reef scene with sea turtles and lots of color. The wall measured 8ft x 8ft. The flooring will be changed out after the mural is finished, and the walls will be painted a light sea-green. I wanted the mural to pop in this space, so I chose a nice deep sea blue as my main color.

Sketches – Time: 6 hours
Once the consultation is complete, I begin work researching references to create a pencil sketch of the scene, ensuring that I have included all of the elements discussed during the consultation. Once the black and white sketch is complete, I send the image to the client via email for approval. Here’s the black and white sketch for the coral reef mural:

After the client reviews the black and white sketch, I make any changes requested and begin working on the color sketch. These two steps are very important to the mural process. The sketches are as accurate to the final product as possible, and will be my guide while working on the full wall. In this case, I decided to make some minor changes to the coral on the right to add some variety.

When creating the color sketch, I work from the same jars of paint that I will use for the mural, to ensure that all of the colors are as accurate as possible. I create swatches which you can see above, and make mixing notes for future reference. This helps me to work much more quickly on the wall. The color sketch is sent to the client for approval, and now that it’s finished, it’s time to tackle that wall!

In the next installment of Evolution of a Mural, I’ll begin to prep the wall for painting, and show the rest of the process from start to finish. Stay tuned!

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!