How to Paint a Waterfall on Your Walls

Mix 1/2 cup of sodium borate and 1/2 tbsp. of ammonia into a gallon of water. These ingredients make a simple cleanser that is safe for wall surfaces prior to painting.

Stir the mixture for about two minutes.

Saturate a rag in your cleaning solution, and wash the walls. Dirty surfaces are much harder to paint than freshly cleaned surfaces.

Locate an image of a waterfall at your library, the Internet or a personal photo album. If you are not an experienced painter, opt for an image with few contrasting colors. Keep it simple, and you will get better results. Scan the image into a computer if you're working with a print source.

Print the waterfall image onto clear acetate paper. Acetate paper is found at most office supply stores. It is used to make transparencies.

Project the image onto the wall. If you have an overhead projector, this will give you the best results. If you don't have a projector, a strong halogen bulb can be used for adequate projection.

Trace the projected image onto the wall using a pencil. Trace any details that you want to paint. Unless you are an experienced painter, stick to primary color groupings. In other words, don't outline every single shade of foamy white in the waterfall; just outline large clumps of white. Limiting yourself to just a handful of basic colors makes the paint job more manageable.

Paint over your pencil template using acrylic paint, starting with the lightest colored portions of the waterfall. Acrylic paints are the easiest to work with for a beginner. You may use oils if you have prior painting experience. Use a 1/32-inch fine-tipped brush to paint the initial outline of each shape, and then fill in the different waterfall shapes with a larger fan brush. These specialty brushes are available at artist supply stores. Wait for each color to dry before moving to the next color. Acrylic paints are quick-drying, and you'll be able to apply the next shade of blue or white to the waterfall in less than an hour.

Erase any stray pencil marks after the paint has sat for a full 24 hours. Although the paint dries in less than one hour, it doesn't fully cure right away. Erasing over fresh paint could cause peeling if you don't wait a full day.