To many people this project could sound quite frightening. Maybe you have an idea in your head already? Why not make it a reality then? Just tell yourself that you can do this! All you need to do, is remain calm.

Let’s move to your first step. It is very important that you do not have a greasy or dirty wall to work on. So get your rubber gloves on and wash down the wall.

Once this is dry, you can make a bit of a start by giving the wall a coating of paint or a primer. This should, in fact, make it easier to paint your mural.

Second step, so now you have prepared your wall. How do you go about it? On the assumption this is quite a large area, I would recommend that you use a grid. For this you will need to work this out on some paper in the first place. Get a sheet of A3 paper and make a grid, draw 2 inch square boxes on it. Once this is done you need to work your design on and over the grid. If you have followed me so far, now you need to transfer the grid to your wall.

As an example, if you use 2 inch squares, one of these could represent 2 feet square on your wall. You can mark your squares on the wall by using a coloured chalk that will show up on your painted wall. Your chalk should be quite easy to erase afterwards.

It is quite easy to fall into the trap of making the grid too small and thus making it hard to remove the chalk when you want too. Please bear in mind what you want to put in the grid, as it will need to have generally strong lines.

So you have your paper grid, now you need some paint. What I would say is, try, if it is at all possible, not to stint on this. A good quality paint usually works better for anything. Personally, I would try to use an acrylic paint, if you can afford it. Then you paint the grid so that each square will be identical from the paper to the wall.

If you are of the opinion that this is going to work out to be too expensive, only use acrylics on the important parts and use a paint you would use for the house for the majority of your mural. However, make sure it is a good brush you use.

Do not paint blindly on, as you need to stand away from it from time to time, to get the full effect of what you are doing. You may have to select a paint that will stand up to the sun.

Anyway, you will not want the sun reflections coming off your work, so choose a paint with an eggshell finish or matt. You also could, when it is complete, brush on a clear varnish. Not only will this make it easier for you to keep it clean, but it will also act as a layer of protection.

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