...without paying a professional airbrush artist to come in and do it, of course! That would get kind of expensive for 2 or 3 walls in a room.
Looking to have solid color at the vase of the wall, taper down to pure white by the time it gets to the top of the wall.
There are some paint techniques using two colors of paint, one over the other that may do what you want. How well it turns out depends a lot on skill and experience. Most paint and DIY stores will have a book with instructions. You can bet it will not have the smooth look that spray will have.
Depending on how much area you need to cover you may want to consider renting a good spray outfit or use spray cans of paint. Practice first.
Exactly. Would start with a base coat of white, then apply the color coat in the style we're describing.
Yep! Actually, I was thinking maybe trying to use the natural "decay" of a roller running out of paint as it rolls over a distance. I can live with variances in the horizontal coverage, it would be like a ripped paper edge, but I don't know how to minimize the striping effect where the edges of the roller paths meet. *That* would look butt ugly, IMHO.
Actually, I was hoping for somebody to tell me about a "magic masking overlay" that comes in 15' widths..." but I guess that's not going to happen. Oh wellllll.
I don't know about the magic, but you should be able to smooth out the horizontal differences by starting with a almost dry roller (roll out the paint until it is no longer leaving paint on newspaper) and then roll horizontal going from the bottom (if that is where the second color is the thinnest) and moving a little higher with each pass.
If I was going to try that on a wall - I've done it on canvas - I would start with oil-base paint, or an additive to latex that extends drying time. I've never tried latex additives. I would get a helper, mix the color in about three or four batches, then start at the top with the white. Roll laterally with the white, then below it with the next color. Have helper, with wide brush, brush back and forth where the colors join. Repeat with the next color. I'd practice before I hit the wall with the good stuff. You could also do something similar by using a sponge technique, if you don't mind the texture. If you are going from white to a deep color, it will be very tricky.
I'm thinking you need to look around for wallpaper in this style instead of paint.
I'll give that way some thought. But in all honesty, I was looking to paint the wall White *first* and then gradually fade the one color as I worked from Bottom to top (or v/v). No way I imagined working with both colors at once, but it is an interesting possibility.
:-)
If the colors I want to use were "normal" (something in a more traditional palette) I would invest the time. But I doubt that a blend of "Home Depot Orange"/White and "Interstate Batteries Green"/White would be found at Wallpaper World.
You're probably right, but I've seen some pretty wild wallpaper.
You might also want to consider mixing your deeper color with a glazing base, in increasing strength, rolling it on and feathering it into the previous, lighter coat. I've mixed up my own concoctions many times to paint small projects, stain wood, and apply antique glazes, but never attempted something like what you want on a wall.
If you want the entire wall white first, no reason not to. Then, mix white with a little of the deeper color, roll on a band of that color, use a good, wide brush or a foam roller to feather the edge, and keep going in increasingly darker color. The critical part, to me, would be to be consistent in the proportions of mixed color, how you feather it, and mix enough for each step. I'd still experiment on waste board or something to be sure of the effect.
I did exactly this for my daughters room - started with almost white light blue at the floor, and ended up with almost black at the cieling.
fill your roller pan with the light color, and paint a stripe around the bottom ofthe room (if the bottom is the light part). Before it dries, add some of the darker color, and paint a stripe a bit above the light stripe. Use a mostly dry roller to blend the two together. Add a bit more of the darker stuff, and do it again. And again. and again......... You can get a fairly smooth gradient if you're carefull and don't let the paint get too dryr before you try to blend it.
Be aware that repairing this type of paint job is a royal PITA. almost to thepoint of just repainting the whole wall, or putting a picture or something over the repair. Its almost impossible to get a perfect color match....
--JD
The more I read, the more it looks like I'll be working with both colors at once. GULP!
Yep, that's about what I figure, no matter how I do it. It's a one shot deal with no easy fix.
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