Ceiling Tile Painting

Now that you’ve finished your drawing, you’re ready to begin painting. Painting can be a lot of fun, but there are many different rules; too many rules to discuss on this single page. Therefore, we’ll only look at some of the more general rules on how to paint.

1. Move from background to foreground. This rule tells you to paint what is furthest away form you first. For example, if you were to paint a mountain scene, you would paint the sky first, then the mountains, then the trees, etc. This rule is useful because you can paint the sky sloppily, covering the mountains, and then take time and care painting the mountains over the sky after the sky paint dries.

2. Move from the general to the specific. This rule tells you to paint things that are larger with less detail first. For example, if you were painting a face, you would paint the head first, before painting details such as the eyes and parts within the eye. The larger area you paint the larger brush you should use. Knowing what brush to use usually takes some practice. Ask your teacher what size brushes you should use for particular areas.

3. When possible paint from light to dark. In other words paint lighter things first. Sometimes this rule will fight or contradict other rules, so you’ll have to decide which rule you should follow in a given situation. For example: A scene with a dark blue night time sky and a white statue in the foreground can’t follow rule 1 and this rule at the same time. You will either have to paint the sky first, following rule 1, or the statue before the sky to follow this rule.

4. When working on any one particular color or area, you should have a minimum of three flat brushes. The largest brush will be for the base color, one of the smaller brushes will be for adding lights and the other for darks. First, you paint the entire area using the big brush with the base color. While the base color is still wet mix in the lights and darks with the smaller brushes. If the base color dries before you get to blend in lights or darks re-wet the area with more base color. You should also have at least one small line brush to add lines and detail to your painting.

5. Keep in mind that simply reading and following the steps above won’t make you an artist or guarantee that you will automatically turn out a great painting. It’s going to take some practice and some coaching from your teacher. If you’re stuck on a particular area, make sure you get help from your teacher, and if you missed the demonstration, make sure that you get a brief personal one. If you mess up don’t fret - just about anything can be fixed. However, the sooner the mistake is caught, the easier it will be to repair. Do your best, take time and care, ask for help when you need it, and you will turn out a project you can be proud of – guaranteed!!