What are the best paints for decorating a wooden chair?

I recently painted an old chair in an artsy craftsy style with all of those little dots, squiggles, etc, in brights and pastels. I used my acrylic tube paint for the base which seemed to be a possible mistake due to the amount I needed. The decorative paints I used were mostly from paint pens that are oil based. I did not know whether I needed to use some sort of protective cover after finishing either. Is there a better way to do this?