Sponsored by Falls Church Arts: https://fallschurcharts.org
important information
Preparing to Paint
Preparing to Paint
Preparing to Paint
Please join us Oct 4, 5, 11, or 13 to paint
Who gets to paint?
You do! Individuals, families, besties, Scout Troops, and other groups of all ages are welcome to paint. Please note: painters elementary school age or younger MUST be accompanied by at least one adult at all times
while painting and cleaning up.
Painting Tips
Before your painting day, sketch out what you plan to paint on the window. Please keep in mind that your painting will be up for a month and visible to everyone driving by and patronizing our host stores. For that reason, please try to keep your paintings as bright and "clean" as possible.
Large, simple shapes in bright colors show up better than complicated designs with lots of small images or writing. When painting with younger children, we encourage adults to outline large simple shapes (e.g. ghosts, trees, pumpkins, letters) for the children to fill in. Well-placed "bloody" handprints or "handprint leaves" at Halloween and "handprint flowers" in the spring also are great ways to involve little ones in the painting while still keeping a clean overall look/feel.
Paint colors we provide are: black, brown, white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, and purple. You can mix those colors on your own to make additional colors or shades.
When and where:
Between 10am-12pm on your selected painting day, please go to the Festival table in Mr. Brown's Pocket Park (100 block of W Broad Street in Falls Church City). Festival volunteers will distribute paint and glue (painters must bring their own empty containers to carry paint) and assign you a participating storefront window. You may then head directly to your window!
If you need extra paint, please return to the Festival table before 12:45pm.
What to bring:
Paintbrushes and sponges.....Plastic cups or small plastic containers to carry paint -- containers with tops are recommended (e.g. Talenti ice cream containers).....Bucket of water and rags to clean paintbrushes....Newspapers or a dropcloth to protect the sidewalk.....A stepladder to comfortably paint higher on the window....Paper towels and some window cleaner for touch-up.
When you're done:
Clean up your painting area (window frames, sidewalk, etc..).
Take all trash with you.
We encourage you to post pictures of your window on your social media. Please tag @FallsChurchArts. #LiveLocalFC and the business
whose window you painted.
Cleaning up
Preparing to Paint
Preparing to Paint
Please clean up your painting by the end of Sunday April 19
All painters are responsible for cleaning up their own paintings and restoring the windows to the before-painting condition. We must do this to keep the great support of our merchants. And, it's fun.
When and where:
During the third week of April, please return to your assigned window to clean up your painting. Please be respectful of the merchant's hours, and do your clean-up at times that will not be overly disruptive for their customers.
What to bring:
Several gallons of water....Big sponges and washcloths or towels....A squeegee if you have one....A soft razor blade scraper....Newspapers or towels to cover the sidewalk ....A stepladder if the top of your painting is hard to reach comfortably....Paper towels and some window cleaner for touch-up.
How to clean the window:
Starting at the top, work on one section of the painting after another. Soak the paint really thoroughly, then wipe it immediately, pushing everything down toward the sidewalk. If you have a squeegee, it will clear away the loosened paint. Sometimes dark paint will still be sticking. That's where a painter's razor knife is handy. Once the window and window frames are 100% clear of paint, please give a final wipe down with a clean sponge or paper towel with window cleaner. Depending on the size of your design and volume of paint, window cleaning typically takes between 30-60 minutes.
Please leave the windows sparkling -- cleaner than you found them! This ensures participating merchants invite us back year after year.
Please thank the store staff and email us when you've finished!
And you're done!