We were asked to complete a gilding leaf sample of gold for a client (24K gold and moon gold) Samples require a basecoat in oil–2 coats of satin impervo in a light straw yellow tone for the 22K gold, I would use a different color for the moon gold. Use wet sand paper #400 and #600 […]
Trompe l’oeil ornament
August 2, 2016 by 3 Comments
Here is the finished painting of the trompe l’oeil ornament piece I completed at Salon in St. Petersberg, Russia. I was asked to do a live demonstration about a large scale ceiling ornament that is meant to be looked at from a fair distance. The scale of the ornament accentuates the shadows and highlights to be more legible. […]
Lapis Lazuli
March 16, 2016 by 1 Comment
Lapis Lazuli-Tutorial This faux lapis lazuli panel was completed for a specific client. Lapis lazuli is a deep blue semi-precious stone (not a marble). Most lapis lazuli contains calcite (white), sodalite (blue), and pyrite (metallic yellow). Since the stones do not come in boulder sizes (the largest sizes rarely exceed 12 sq. ft.), a larger panel like this needs […]
Satin wood faux bois
August 25, 2015 by 1 Comment
This is a 2-step, Satin wood faux bois. Even though some of the movements take practice to master, the process is very fast and it only needs 1 glaze color. Below is a step-by-step explanation of how it was done on a baseboard sample. The base coat is a light straw in a Satin water […]
Ebony Woodgrain
July 27, 2015 by 3 Comments
Here is a how-to for Ebony woodgrain. It is a 3-step process to create this rich and heavily-grained wood. If you use a fast drying medium like matte medium, it’s possible to do all 3 steps in one day — or at least 2. Below is a light version of real Ebony wood. Often, you […]
Real Faux Stone
June 9, 2015 by 1 Comment
This a real faux stone because it mimics cut stone and not just a textured surface, which is a common mistake when creating faux stone. This may look ok, but it isn’t realistic. Real, cut stone would be smooth to the touch but pitted (recesses). To start, a tinted (off-white) primer was applied. The texture […]
Red Griotte faux marble (Part 2 of 2)
April 2, 2015 by 1 Comment
From where we left off in part 1 of the Red Griotte faux marble how-to, we now finish with some fine detail steps along with an overglaze. Here is a picture of real Red Griotte. This marble is named after the Griotte cherry (from the Ukraine) which has a bright red color. Notice the coloring […]
Red Griotte faux marble (part 1 of 2)
March 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Here is a how-to for painting Red Griotte faux marble. This example is painted on a small baseboard piece. In this case, we base coated a dark brick color in oil – 2 coats. After, the surface needed to be degreased with whiting to prepare the surface. A water-based paint can be used, but it […]
Switch plate covers to match embroidered fabric
February 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Here is another small project of painting switch plate covers to match embroidered fabric on the wall. See tile match post. The plate was textured with a series of tinted texture using the very fine, samina chiqueteur. Fast-dry fluid acrylics were used with a matte medium. Softening with a round badger between steps. Don’t forget […]
Polished plaster touch up
February 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Performing a touch up on a polished plaster wall, can be a huge challenge. If the area is small enough, it can be masked using this technique below. Previously, we’ve discussed the “touch-up” subject before; once on touching up a hole on a wall and more recently, how to touch up a cracked strie. Here’s […]
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