A marble fragment is the “meat” of marble composition. They are the chunks of marble that have remained intact as the surrounding sediment (either veins or breccias) defines its borders. As seen on the picture of real marble above, the fragments are encased by an orange breccia. On a veined marble, the fragments are exactly […]
Mother Glaze
November 21, 2014 by 1 Comment
A “Mother Glaze” is an essential ingredient when creating faux marble, woodgraining, certain organic textures, and any other technique that involves the expressive use colors. I’ve coined this pot of glaze as a “Mother” because it is the base for all offspring colors. For example, when creating the major veins of a marble, I create […]
Stiles and Rails
October 10, 2014 by 3 Comments
Stiles and rails are woodworking terms that refer to the outer frame of a “frame and panel” construction. A basic frame and paneled section consists of two rails and two stiles that surround the panel. In the picture above, these panels are on a wall. The rails are the horizontal pieces and the stiles are […]
Order to paint an entire room
October 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
When you are looking at a large room and say, “where do I begin?”, this post will tell you in what order to paint an entire room. On this diagram below, the numbers correspond to the correct order to paint a typical room. Most rooms will not contain all of these elements. Your average room […]
Drop Shadow for Lettering
July 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A drop shadow for lettering illustrates a 3-dimensional quality of an object. When a light source is introduced, the drop shadow falls on the opposite side. The drop shadow is usually a much darker color than the letter, in order to create a contrast. However, if the letters are dark, a lighter color can […]
Oak wood
March 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Oak is a common species of wood that is replicated using faux bois techniques. With over 300 species of oak worldwide, oak can be found in most climates. At one time, oak was the most prevalent species and also one of the longest-lived species in European forests, often enduring for many centuries. Oak’s extreme hardness, […]
Our jobsite kits for fast-drying acrylics
February 20, 2014 by 1 Comment
These are kits that contain decorative painter’s palette for fast-drying acrylics. It is these colors that I have on hand at all times. They fit neatly in these little totes I had made to carry them to job sites. They come in handy for almost every finish. Here are some common uses for fast-drying Matte […]
Matte Fluid Acrylics
February 12, 2014 by 1 Comment
Matte fluid acrylics are artist-grade paints that work extremely well for countless uses in my shop. Because they are fluid, they mix well with paint, mediums, and even textures. But, the coolest thing is the MATTE version of fluid acrylics, which delivers a very ideal sheen. GOLDEN Artist Colors, Inc. has the best product, in […]
Sanding
January 17, 2014 by 1 Comment
Who loves sanding? Not me! Probably nobody really loves to sand, which is why this crucial step gets skipped or done with partial effort. Maybe your client won’t notice how sanding between steps has effected the overall decorative finish, but if you’re a professional, you should be able to see and feel the difference. When […]
Japan Drier
January 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Japan drier is a chemical used to aggressively speed up the dry time of oil-based paint and glaze. The drying process is actually a chemical reaction that produces an organic plastic when mixed with a drying oil. These driers are derived by ions of certain metals such as: cobalt, iron, or manganese and prepared as […]
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