Acrylic Mural
I've wanted to paint rocks on the wall above my counters for years! So this summer I finally did it!
I love the colors and the texture, but most of all the way it actually tricks the eye to look like real stones piled up on each other. The wall was textured, so that helped with the illusion.
Here is how I started. The far right side was the hardest to reach:
I removed the switch plates and sanded them with sand paper to roughen them up some, then I primed them with gesso, so the paint won't be as apt to peal. You can see how I matched the left one into the mural below.
Red oxide, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, white, black, and yellow oxide turned out to be the colors I used the most. I used Liquitex Basics (not the Matte series). I kept the paint moist with a small spritzer bottle of water, misting a little bit more often instead of a lot all at once, so as to not make puddles. Used a palette knife to paint some extra texture now and then, also used a crumpled paper towel for some of the texture. Had to leave it alone and let it thoroughly dry between coats before painting over the extra texture or it would just take the paint off. The textured wall made it easy to add more texture, and I didn't need much. It also made it interesting, trying to use it to enhance the rocks. I kept my shadows consistent with the light source of the window, giving the rocks some depth.
This took me a week, 3 or 4 hours every time I had a chance.
Approximately 25 hours
(click on an image to enlarge it).
Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for information about having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, inspirational art, etc... ) Price list by size.
