Paints and Brushes
In the preparation of the room use white vinyl matt paint on the walls, this can be bought at any DIY shop and is inexpensive.
For woodwork and frames use a gloss paint, again easily obtainable at any DIY store.
Now to the design itself, if you are painting a mural or bold single pictures you will need to use acrylic paint, this comes in a wide variety of colours and shades and can be bought in different sized containers depending on how much you need. Remember you do not need to buy every different shade of say blue, just buy two or three strong colours then to achieve different shades add in the white acrylic paint to get the hue you want. Also you can mix two different blues together to get a totally new colour, it's all about experimenting.
Acrylic paints are durable and water resistant and you can apply them using a brush, pad or roller. Acrylic paints are available at DIY stores but if there is an Art Shop in your area then that is your best port of call as they will carry a wide variety of colours.
You can mix Acrylic paint with emulsion paint, so when you have some white paint left over from your undercoat you can add in a touch of blue acrylic paint and use this to paint or sponge in large areas of say, sea.For colourwashes use vinyl matt emulsion thinned down with water, add the water gradually until it is the consistency you want, remember the more water you add the more translucent the colour.
As your design progresses and you become more confident you can build up your colours to give an even more bold effect.
Paint on the first colour then once this is dry you can paint in the shading and detail over the top.Squeeze your chosen colour onto your pallet - I find using paper plates an ideal surface on which to mix your colours - use a brush to mix the paint to the desired shade then apply it to the wall.
Acrylic paint takes very little time to dry in fact 10 minutes or so is enough, so when you're squeezing out your paint use little and often as it will dry quickly and you don't want to waste it.Buy your brushes at the same time as your buying the paint, you'll find that some brushes are advertised as being specifically for acrylic paint but these can be expensive, ask in the shop as you will often find that they carry their own range of brushes which are just as good and cost half the price.
You'll need about three to four brushes of differing sizes; you'll want a very small thin brush for painting in details, a slightly larger one for doing small areas and so on, so you should finish with a range of brushes which will cover every job. This is also the time to buy a sponge if that's the effect your looking for as well as any pads or a scrim.
Acrylic and vinyl paints are easily washable from your brushes etc, just use water, and remember to put the brushes straight into a glass of water after you've finished using them, so that they remain soft and usable.To clean gloss or oil paint you'll need turpentine and again you should clean your tools immediately before the paint dries and ruins them.
Don't leave any of your tools in water overnight, clean them thoroughly then reshape the bristles and leave the brushes upturned in your glass to dry.
The scrim can be rinsed and then left in water overnight in readiness for the next day.
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