The next step is to start the painting.

You can use poster paint or any thickly mixed watercolour medium.

We have used a yellow ochre poster paint for the background as this sandy colour is often associated with Ancient Egyptian images.

The paint was mixed quite thickly with a little water (to the consistency of double-cream) and applied neatly around the head and hieroglyphs.

The borders are deliberately painted more loosely to simulate the edge of an aging piece of parchment or a decaying mural.