Painting a false sky in a small room can open up the space visually. Painting the ceiling in a child’s room adds a bit of airy and whimsical feel. You can create this carefree summer feeling by learning how to paint clouds with the steps below:
Tools and Materials
- primer
- blue, satin finish paint
- white, semi-gloss paint
- glaze
- full-size paint roller
- 4-inch paint roller
- 2-inch paint brush
- paint tray
- glass measuring cup
- pieces of sea sponge, big enough to be held between your thumb and fingers
- a piece of cheesecloth, about 18 x 24 inches
- a piece of board or wallboard, approximately 36 x 24″
- pictures of clouds, if possible
- Prime the wall with two coats of primer, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly.
- For the area that adjoins the ceiling and walls and between each wall, use the 2-inch brush to paint and use paint roller to paint the rest of the walls. Give the walls two coats of primer, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly.
- The next step is to apply two coats of the blue, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly. The last coat of paint should be allowed to dry for 24 hours before applying the clouds.
- Measure a ratio of 4 to 1 for glaze to white paint (for example, add 1 cup of glaze and 1/4 cup of white paint). Mix thoroughly and pour into paint tray. As you paint, continue to mix this as the mixture has a tendency to separate.
- Wet a sponge under the tap, and wring it out completely. Next, dab it into the white paint, then dab on the ridges of the paint tray to remove excess paint.
- Wet a piece of cheesecloth under the tap and wring out thoroughly and keep this near at hand while painting your clouds. With a piece of board or wallboard, dab your sponge to practice forming clouds.
How To Create A Cloud :
- Dab a fairly straight line on the board for the bottom of the cloud. Then dab paint above this line, twisting and turning the sponge as you dab, to build the cloud. Once you’re satisfied with the general shape of the cloud, dab the cheesecloth gently over the entire cloud, softening the paint and giving it a more cloud-like appearance. Dab more bits of paint on the cloud, towards the center, to add some texture. Each cloud will be created this way.
- Now choose the largest wall and find the middle of the wall (vertically and horizontally – make a rough eye estimation). Move either left or right one foot and up or down on foot from the vertical center you found and begin your first cloud here. This off-center position will give a less “bulls-eye” feel to your wall.
- In a room about 8’ x 10’, make the largest cloud about 20-24 inches in length, medium clouds 10-15 inches, small 5-10 inches, and 2 inch wisps. Adjust accordingly to the size of your room.
- Paint the clouds of the same sizes on the different walls before you move to the following size. You can paint some clouds around the corners of the walls and start some from the baseboards or window trim. Paint small wisps of clouds around light switches, electrical outlets, cool air vents, and wall-mounted lights.
