DRAWING & PAINTING FAUX BRICKS (TROMPE L'OEIL) & TUTORIAL

     Back to the New Orleans style house where I've been working.

    The builder had one area that bothered him and couldn't decide what to do with it.

Finally, he had an idea and called me to ask if I could paint faux bricks for him in this area.

So, I did paint faux/trompe l'oeil bricks for him.  

Above are three walls with bricks.  

Can you tell which two walls are real and the one that I painted?

Ok, which one?

Alright, I'm sure you've guessed it.  The butler's pantry was very plain and the builder wanted me to paint the faux bricks to blend with the other two walls.  When you're standing in certain areas in the big living room you can see all three brick walls at the same time.  

It was important to make them look the same.

I'm very happy with the way they turned out.  

Everybody was saying, "oh, that looks good, you did it" and that made me feel good.  

The builder helped me with critiquing the grout lines and together, 

WE DID IT!!

TUTORIAL

First, I used dry spackling.  With a broad knife and my finger I lightly textured the area.

 I picked out colors to match the existing brick and mortar colors.

 I painted the grayish grout color over the whole area as my base coat.

When that dried, I used my brick stencil to get the structure going. 

 Next, I used a regular brush to stencil the orange brick.  

Then, I used a brush to paint on and a rag to rub out raw umber, off white and black.  It took a while to work on each brick and make them different from each other.  Last, I went back with a brush to paint the grout lines a little wider.  As the paint was wet, I wiped with a rag and smudged areas onto each brick to match the existing real brick walls.

At the very bottom and at the very top I had to make my own bricks because the stencil wouldn't fit in those spots.  The bricks are so uneven it's very simple to do.  In the corners I lightly brushed some raw umber so it shadowed, making it look more three dimensional.

I think anyone could do this.  

You could paint the wall behind your fireplace, the backsplash under your kitchen cabinets, a mud room, a bedroom wall or any place you wish you had bricks. 

 You can use any color for your bricks and mortar.

Have fun!!

Original Post:  6/20/13

FAUX PAINTING CEILING BEAMS TO LOOK LIKE DARK OLD WOOD

FAUX PAINTING CEILING BEAMS TO LOOK LIKE

 DARK OLD WOOD

The beams in this great room were just boards and stained a medium brown.

Also, they had a shiny clear coat of sealer on them.

My client wanted them to look old and asked me to paint them to look like dark old beams.

I primed, then painted the base coat.

Then, I streaked a lighter brown and gray with my brush and a rag.

Last, I painted knot holes to make the beams look a little more authentic.

Because I wanted them to look old and dry I didn't paint a sealer on them. 

A clear coat sealer would have made them shine.  

A low sheen sealer would have made them shine a little bit and that, to me, does not look old.

It was a lot of work to paint these beams.  

Especially since I was painting for so many hours above  my head.  

The new darker beams were a dramatic change for this beautiful room.

This room was dark and the beams really did look like they might have been old wood.

My clients were very happy with their new old beams.

Oh, and I textured, painted and glazed these walls to look like old broken plaster.

And, I painted the ceiling the base coat color that I used on the walls under the glaze.

Original post was 9/30/14.

HAND PAINTING A CHANDELIER & TUTORIAL

HAND PAINTING A CHANDELIER & TUTORIAL

A few years ago, I painted the kitchen cabinets in my client's new home.

She wanted a darker, warmer tuscany finish.  I painted most of the high walls and ceilings and textured and faux painted several of the walls.

A few weeks ago, she called and said she was ready for a change.

This time she wanted EVERYTHING to be painted in very light colors.

Because of my schedule, this time I only painted the kitchen cabinets and another painter painted all of the walls, ceilings and woodwork.

Back in the tuscany days, she painted this chandelier for her breakfast room in a very dark green to go with the tuscany feel of her new kitchen.

But, for her new lighter colors she purchased a fabulous huge chandelier for the kitchen and since this smaller one is in the same room, she wanted them to be similar in color.  So, I painted, distressed and aged it with off whites and browny colors.

It looks really nice with her new colors and the new chandelier.

Those red lambrequin window treatments will be covered with new fabric.  I saw some samples and they WILL be beautiful!!  

My client does her own decorating and I love her taste.  To me, it's artsy and unique.

In this picture, I had already started priming.  

I almost forgot to take a picture of the "before" green.

It looks very different now, doesn't it?

And, here is her fabulous new chandelier.  It might look small, but that's because her walls and ceilings are very high.  This chandelier is 46" wide.  It just "made" her kitchen.  Her kitchen is large and cabinets spread out and the chandelier pulled everything together.

Very large and beautiful!

A close up of the finish on the new chandelier.

Next post I'll show you her "before" tuscany kitchen and then the new kitchen.  They're very different, but both beautiful in her home.

PAINT A CHANDELIER TUTORIAL

Through the years I've painted lots of chandeliers.  

When a client is changing her decor or if she just wants a change, it's sometimes easier and less expensive to paint than to replace.  To replace you have to shop and purchase and then pay an electrician to install it, hoping he's able to get it right the first trip.  It costs money if he has to come back.  But, sometimes the wiring or other things need to be changed, thus prolonging that hourly charge.  In home improvement I can do a lot, but for electrical and plumbing I always call a professional.  

It's so much easier for me if they can bring the chandelier to my studio.  

I just hang it from the ceiling, low enough for me to stand on the floor to paint.  

Sometimes they're huge and I do need a ladder to work on them. 

But, if I need to paint it in place in my client's home I do the same process that I would in my studio.  

I just have to be more careful about covering everything around the area. 

 First, I dust or vacuum the best I can.  Then, depending on the finish I will prime or just sand a tiny bit, very lightly.  It can be very tedious, especially if there are a lot of crystal and other decorations.  Then, you use a tiny or medium sized brush and start painting, distressing, aging, etc.  

At the end, you need to make a decision about sealing the paint.  Sometimes a sealer will change the dull look you wanted and make it shiny.  Many times, I just use an eggshell paint or acrylic craft paints.  They will dry to a hard finish.  Nothing is going to be banging or hitting your chandelier, so it really doesn't need major protection.  The main thing to remember is that with most painted surfaces, you need to be careful about using solvents because they can soften and remove the paint. If that happens, just touch it up.  If you need to use a solvent on the crystals or glass, just spray your product on a cloth and wipe.   If you keep it dusted, I think your finish will last a long time.

Make it beautiful!

Original post 9/14/14

PAINTING ARTWORK ON A FRONT PORCH WALL & PAINTING ROSES AROUND ROSE'S FRONT DOOR

   PAINTING ARTWORK ON A FRONT PORCH WALL & PAINTING ROSES AROUND ROSE'S FRONT DOOR

 My client asked me to do some artwork around her front porch area. 

 She wanted it to look "special" when company walked up to her front door.

     She told me to be creative and would leave it up to me.  

She said wouldn't even peek! She wanted to be surprised.

     So, I painted this crepe myrtle tree, kind of a pinky red.   I painted these two pots of flowers and some ivy on the wall heading up to her front door.  Of course, the pot in the corner is a real pot of fern and that made my artwork look more interesting.

  Her house was a really nice gray color with a dark blacky gray roof.  

It was a really nice color for painting all of these colors that I used.

     Her name was Rose.

I wanted to paint roses around her front door, in honor of her name.  

She LOVED that!

     I painted and crackled the front door.

  Then, painted a color from the roses on the little trim.

     This was a fun project!

Rose was very happy with her new front porch and door!

Original post September 3, 2012