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Ralph Serpe on March 23rd, 2010

Consider decorative wall painting techniques, such as sponging, ragging, stenciling or stamping. Even if you have no experience, you can brighten even the dullest room quickly and cheaply with one of these easy decorative wall painting techniques. Before painting your room, pick out a color scheme for your walls. When you chose your paint, remember that many painting techniques use two shades of one color. If you are using one of the techniques that does use two shades of color, you can pick a darker color than you normally would chose for your base color, since the lighter top color will make the final result much lighter.

If you are considering using a decorative painting technique such as stenciling or stamping, you may just want to create a wallpaper effect by stamping or stenciling a simple design over your base coat. However, you may want to go a step further with your project and use stencils or stamps to create a faux brick or stone wall. You don’t need to be an artist to create one of these faux finishes. Just follow these simple steps. First, paint the walls with the color you chose for the mortar between the bricks or stones. Once the base coat is dry, stamp or stencil your bricks or stones over the base coat. Once the brick or stonework is dry, spatter a bit of the darker color over your faux art to give it depth and make it appear more realistic.

Creating faux effects such as making your walls look like they are made of plaster or suede can also really make your room stand out. You can easily learn how to create these seemingly difficult finishes at your local paint store. Paint bases that automatically give a suede or textured effect to the walls are a shortcut that even artists use to create fun finishes. Finally, no matter which decorative wall painting technique you choose, remember that it is just a few layers of paint. You can always redo the finish on your walls as you learn more about the art of decorative painting.

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Ralph Serpe on January 15th, 2010

When you hear about palette knife you would be thinking about palette isn’t it? Palette knives have been a traditional tool for mixing the paint. They are the most apt tool to be used for creating smooth and consistent mediums of paints. However there are many painters who use the palette knife in addition to be used as mixing tool, they straight use the palette knife on to the painting surface.

These knives come in different shapes and signs. They are also available in plastic. As far as the mixing is concerned one shape or size is more than sufficient but as the case of using it as a paint brush is considered, the selection of the knife is made in the same way as the case of selecting brushes is considered. There is no shape or size which we can say is right or the apt one for usage. Experimentation is the key if you are working with palette knives if you are considering working with knives. Try the different shapes and you can select the one that gives you the best effects. Generally small and thin brushes are best suited for lining and big knives are the best for loading on the paint.

Many artists love using stencils in their paintings. This usage is loved by them especially when there is a usage of repetitive effect and stylish shapes. Stencils are a useful tool. There are pre made stencils available or you even an option of making stencils with your stencil kit. Ensure that you use the right materials for best results. Stencil usage in paints is not a traditional method so there is no scope that you can find any tutorials for teaching you the technique of stencils. But is important that you keep in mind the fundamentals of the medium like the fat over lean. You might have noticed that incase the paint is thin in consistency then it stagnates around the edges, so in such a case it is important that you apply a thicker layer of painting. Stenciling is a very interesting art, however it is used as one of the under layers but it has amazing effects.

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