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Paint Technique: Underwater Background

Room by Room : Episode RXR-2212 -- More Projects »
Photo
 Media
Watch the Video: Simulate the deep blue sea using a combination of paint and glaze for a watery look any kid would love in their room!
Materials:

latex satin paint: white base coat; upper aqua color (Composed SW6472); blue (Regatta SW6517); sand (Illusions Sandscapes Worsted Wool SW7182 and Wild Oat SW7183) (Sherwin-Williams)
glaze
paintbrushes
roller/covers
paint pails
paint tray/liner
painter's blue tape
natural sea sponge

Steps:

1. Apply the base coat and let dry.
2. Mark where the sandy bottom will be using blue tape to create gentle mounds of sand all the way around the room. Tape-off the baseboards as well.
3. Note: The entire technique starts at the top of the ceiling and works its way down. For the water, put clear glaze into one pail and some of the aqua paint into another. Starting at the ceiling, brush on a lot of the clear glaze in a workable area. Lightly dip another brush into the aqua paint and brush it over the glaze in sweeping horizontal motions. Use the aqua sparingly at the top to simulate the way the sunlight makes that part of the sea quite clear.

PHOTO

Figure A
4. As you move lower on the wall, add more and more paint to the glaze to make the lower areas of the wall darker (figure A). Along with the gentle rolling wave motion for the brush strokes, add darker strokes here and there for dimension.
5. About midway down the wall, it's time to start adding some of the blue to make the color transition. In the deepest areas of the aqua, start as always with the glaze first, and then add some of the blue paint and work down the rest of the wall. End with pure blue paint and no glaze to get the desired depth.
6. When the water is complete, remove the tape while the paint is still wet so as not to pull off any of the film. 7. Use two different beiges for the sand, one lighter and one a bit darker for shading. Roll the lighter color on the lower wall area, meeting up to the water. Add the shading mostly at the bottom along the baseboards while the light base coat is still wet using a natural sea sponge to simulate the ocean floor.

Explore hundreds of ideas for Decorating Room by Room from hosts Shari Hiller and Matt Fox.

Resources
paint — Sherwin-Williams
Website: www.sherwin-williams.com
Also in this Episode
Room by Room : Episode RXR-2212
•Under-the-Sea Bedroom
•Paint Technique: Underwater Background
•Fish Projects
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