Gilding Leaf Sample

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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)

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

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

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 […]