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Jun 10, 2026
An Introduction to Decorative Painting
A foliage ceiling mural - Part 1 - Inspiration and colour palette
with TESS NEWALL — Acclaimed artist and set designer specialising in hand painted homewares and decorative painting.
Lesson 29 of 32
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For your final project together, you will be learning how to create your own hand-painted wall mural. Tess takes you through how she approached a recent mural project as a practical case study.
From the Lesson Workbook
A Foliage Ceiling Mural - Part 1 - Inspiration and Colour Palette
For our final project together, you will be learning how to create your own hand-painted wall mural. I'll be taking you through how I approached a recent wall mural project as a case study.
My Project
My client wanted a wall mural in a summer house set in the middle of woodland. The brief was to bring the outside in, and I felt particularly inspired by The Long Gallery at Parham House. It has similar beams to those in my project, and I love how the mural weaves through them. There is also the perfect balance of decorative pattern and negative space, which I want to carry through to the summer house.
Seeking Inspiration
When seeking inspiration for this project, I looked at the work of Oliver Messal in The Long Gallery at Parham House as well as the murals in Villa Medici.
As we have done with our previous projects, gather your inspirational references and create a mood board.
Think about:
- How do you want the room to feel?
- Are you creating a naturalistic or stylised look?
- What shapes or forms are you drawing from your inspiration?
- Can your references inform any compositional decisions?
- What colour palette will you use?
Colours I Will Be Using
In a mural, I tend to mix a lot of my colours - either as I'm going on the wall or beforehand in my palette - however it's still really important to have your selection of core colours.
For my project, I'll be using:
- A wall wash in Setting Plaster, Farrow & Ball
- Beverly, Farrow & Ball
- Card Room Green, Farrow & Ball
- Bancha, Farrow & Ball
- Raw Umber
- Raw Sienna
- Burnt Sienna
Further Reading
The Long Gallery in Parham House, East Sussex
Artist and Set Designer Oliver Messel
Villa Medici, Rome
Interior designer Isabella Worlsey
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Interior and exterior confidence
Create Academy has been such a great resource. I'm in the middle of renovating a bungalow with a very large garden and the courses have offered a wealth of information to dive into and explore new ideas. I'm...
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Jun 10, 2026
Absolutely love Create Academy
Absolutely love Create Academy! The instructors are extremely informative, and it is beautifully filmed. Create Academy is great value for money and plan on renewing my subscription yearly because there are ...
SG
May 31, 2026
Magic in small spaces
Butter's creativity is stunning! Her ability to incorporate brilliance in small gardens is magical!
Carla
May 30, 2026
Your Instructor
Tess Newall
Acclaimed artist and set designer specialising in hand painted homewares and decorative painting.
Tess Newall is a decorative artist based in Sussex, specialising in hand-painted bespoke murals and furniture. Following a decade of experience as a set designer and painter in the film industry, Tess has mastered how to bring a creative vision to life. She often draws on historic patterns and aims to capture an artisanal feel, where textures and brushstrokes add to the atmosphere of a room or to the character of a furniture piece. Tess and her studio team work with interior designers and private clients on bespoke commissions for both commercial and residential projects, as well as collaborating on homewares collections with brands including Liberty and Matilda Goad.
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