Archive for July, 2009
Well it’s hard to believe that we are into August already and I am coming back to The International Design Center in Estero Florida. on August 8th at 2:00pm – 3:00pm for the third time in my Seminar Series of “What to Know Before You Faux”.
Its really amazing how time fly’s when your as busy as I am. Even though the economy has been rough on everything and everyone I have been focused on building relationships in these tough times which I believe is very important and by bringing public awareness to the decorative arts I hope to accomplish if even just for a little while how art matters weather its through the good times and even more so during the rough times.
You see if anything art is needed even more during the rough times in my opinion because I believe that this is when people are going to be more observant and open minded to new and brighter discoveries and ideas into the ever changing world that we live in. I have to be honest here, I have made some huge discoveries about myself that I thought were never possible and totally taken me by surprise.
Broken Color technique
2 years ago I would have thought you were out of your mind if you were to tell me that I would be publicly speaking about what I do for a living and I would have never thought that people would really be all that interested in coming to hear what I have to say. So now I am nervous because I have to keep the content of my seminars “fresh & interesting” In order to keep you all coming back so I have decided on doing a live demonstration for this months presentation.
In this presentation I am demonstrating a technique that I have learned many years ago from an artist friend of mine that is a cost effective way for a decoarative finish that when practiced it turns out to be a very nice application providing the right colors are chosen.
Venetian Plaster & Color wash (Broken Color)
Venetian Plaster
This is a layered finish and not a blended one for which there is a huge difference between the two. When applying this finish the idea is to concentrate on negative space rather than positive space and what I mean by this is that your not really concentrating on what you are putting on the wall but rather where your putting it , if that makes sense to you. This why I am doing this live demonstration so I can explain it a little easier and I explain probabaly even better in my video, but if not just shoot me an email with your phone number and I will give you a call to help.
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Hi everyone,
Today I was thinking that since I am on a wood graining kick that I might as well work on my other “How To Video” and ended up on my entry door video segments that I recently finished. I have two lines of “How To’s” videos in progress and since I just recently refinished a set of mahogany entry doors I thought I may as well put a preview out there to let people know that I am very knowledgable in things other than decorative art, after all, I have had a brush in my hand since time began for me anyway.
I got this call from a builder friend of mine David Giles of Purple Sage Construction who had a client that needed something done with their entry doors. It turned out that the person who took on this job prior to me did not have the right qualifications to take on such a feat and did the best they could with them without having to strip them. In other words they were a mess by the time I got to them. They were at first wanting to have them woodgrained in order to “cover-up” what was there and I simply told them for less cost they could bring them back to the original beauty of the natural mohagany. To me it just doesnt make sense to do a mohagany wood grain over a mohagany door unless there is some kind of good reason. So I stripped the doors back to the original surface and cleaned them up and this is where this blog begins…..
I have found a high demand for wood graining garage doors over the past several months so I thought I may as well show what I have been doing with the overhead door demand. This is all acrylics with a UV protective topcoat to keep from fading and the product line I used here has held up very well.
These doors I did about 5-6 years ago and they still look like the day I did them…….
I have seen many attempts to this technique, where oil base products were used and I would just like to warn everyone who is looking to get this done, that you should read the manufacturers label on the backside of your garage door to make sure you, or who ever is going to grain, or even repaint your door, to apply the right product. Most door companies will void your warrenty if you use the wrong product.
In Florida it is not recommended to use oilbase products on metal overhead doors or any metal door for that matter, because it will crack, peel and actually break down quite rapidly because of the extreme elements that are common down here in Florida.
My latest door was done about 6 months sgo and as you can see its holding up very well against the direct sun hitting it every day
So , now that I have seen what the quality of the product line is I will recommend this line in my” How to Faux” video segments called
“Amazing Accents”
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I have been kind of falling behind on my posts so I thought I would post a few pictures of some wood graining techniques I have done recently. This first panel is a Satinwood Trompe Loeil Panel. l’ll make a post just for woodgraining, and I will start it off with one of my favorites…….
Satinwood is a great one to render for the inerior designers who are working with more modern and contemporary feel. I know the frame is a little over the top but this is what a designer requested to draw attention to the piece
As everyone knows I have been doing my thing for over 30 years
and now it’s about time to start putting out some helpful information out there and see if I can show everyone the benefit of this little gem I have come up with for my “How to Faux” video series. I got to thinking that there are a lot of “Do It Yourself” kind of clients out there and if they want to try and save some money by painting those walls themselves then take a look at my 7 minute preview of my “Wall Painting Video”
This is full of Information that I have learned over the years and is recorded on site in real time and is an addition to my “How To Faux Video” series. My “Amazing Accents” are designed for small areas and the DIY’ers but first we have to learn the basics and it is important that the walls are properly prepped and base painted before any faux finish can be applied. So with out further ado heres a little short preview to my basic painting video to give you an idea of whats in it and if you find you can use this then follow the link to purchase either a hard copy DVD for your library ………Peace!
