The Project
This was a full-wall mural for a bedroom that looks like a collection of oversized stickers and patches. The wall sits next to a log wall under a wood plank ceiling, so I wanted a bright, sweet scene that holds its own against all that wood. I used bubblegum pink as the background, with oranges, corals, yellows and a few purples and blues on top.
Every shape on the wall is its own little piece. There are smiley faces, glossy bows, butterflies, daisies, hearts, heart-shaped sunglasses and a couple of checkerboard panels. Words are scattered between them: Choose Joy, You Are Loved, Create, Explore, Love, Beautiful, and a sunrise patch that says Unique as a Sunrise.
Project Details
- Location: Gig Harbor, WA
- Size: Full-Wall
- Paint: House Paint
Timelapse Video:
The Process
1. Base coat. I started by rolling pink over the existing wall color. In the early photos you can still see the old color along the top edge before it was covered. I taped the door trim to keep the edges clean.
2. Blocking in shapes. Before any detail, I painted the main shapes as flat blocks of color: rounded squares, circles and rough bow and butterfly silhouettes in orange, coral, yellow and soft pink. This let me see the balance of the whole wall and move things around before committing.
3. Details. Once the layout felt right, I added the lettering, flowers, faces, outlines and highlights. The white highlights on the bows and the dark outlines on the butterflies and smiley faces came last, since they make the shapes look finished.
The Design
I wanted the wall to feel like a collage you could keep looking at. The shapes come in different sizes, and I repeated colors across the wall so your eye keeps moving. The orange panels sit next to the pink ones, and yellow shows up in the smiley faces, the checkerboards and the sunrise. The bows have white highlights so they look shiny, and the butterflies are outlined in a deeper pink to make them stand out from the background.
Finished Project:
