Your contest was just the push I needed to redo my teen son's bathroom! He loves the ocean and we enjoy trips to the Coast together, so I used your technique as kind of a modern take on an undersea theme. It was daunting at first, but I was determined. I started by painting over the hideous hand painted wall I'm embarrassed to say that I did. (In my defense, it was way back in the 90s when faux finishes were in style.) 

I used Kilz because I wanted to make sure that it is somewhat mold-proof as my son takes 'hour showers' and turns the bathroom into a steam room every day. As I covered the wall I also practiced the brush strokes to get a feel for what my brush could do. I didn't have the brushes recommended and didn't want to purchase anything extra because already have a lot of supplies on hand so, I ended up using a 1" regular angled brush at this stage. I used some letter shapes because I'm familiar with brush lettering and it felt more comfortable to me. I let it dry and then painted the entire wall black.

My son's favorite color is turquoise, so I used that for all the marks. Halfway through, I got worried because it took me awhile to get a feel for it and my husband walked in and said, "Wow that's a dark wall!" 

I'm not sure if I should add the gold because my son said he likes it as-is. I may add some white dots to accent -- I'm giving it a few days to think about it.

 

I did add a turtle shower curtain, a retro lobster dish (to use for soap or whatever) and dug out a painting that my son did when he was eight and added that to the decor. Now all I need to do is paint the cabinets and change the fixtures to complement the rest of the design.

I'm pleased with the end result and so is my son! Thanks Adam, for another great class -- you always inspire me!