Arthur, Got the video today. I must say, you are a real artist. The column you did was amazing! I am real excited to try this technique. I might be able to give it a try while I still have my broken ankle. Anyway, I had a few questions. First, I have two smaller columns that I had sprayed with oil based satin Impervo. Would that be a suitable base on which to begin applying the glaze? I thought you said that you used oil based paint as a base, but wasn’t sure. Also, I don’t have a lot of aqua creme, would I need to use two cups or can I scale down the proportions of aqua creme to color? Anyway, thanks for all of the help. I will send pictures when of my progress when I start.
Thanks,
Ross
Once again, thanks for the help. As far as your video, (I should have told you I didn’t like it and demanded my money back! ha!) no seriously, I think it was very good. What you are teaching is an art, not a 1, 2, 3 step processes, so the best way to convey that is to just let the viewer watch what you are doing. I don’t think most of us are worried so much about the editing, as what we can learn from the content. Anyway, nice job!
I can tell that this process is not going to be easy. But, that is ok, as I think the results will be worth the work. Usually, I tend to take the harder route anyway on my projects.
Anyway, I am glad I ran across you and your website as you have been extremely helpful!
Thanks,
Ross
Ross,
Don’t worry, you will see, once you get going, how easy it really is, it’s just a little overwhelming at first, just be quick with the first couple of steps for your background and once you get past that, it will start to “talk” to you and you will actually start to see where there should be veining just by how the colors flow. I had a class once where there was a woman that was just having a difficult time doing her first layer because she was trying to make it look like marble to soon and didn’t understand that the first layer was just a toning layer, so I told her
“Here’s how you do it, Put your glaze on”…….
She says, “Well, how do you know where to put it?”
Me, “You don’t” “and that’s not important right now, so don’t worry about that so much, ………close your eyes, …now, put your glaze on”………she does……”now open your eyes”
She says, “Ok…..it looks like mess now what?”………
Me, “You see where you put your glaze on, right?”………
“Uh huh”
Me: “Now close your eyes again and hit it with that sponge and don’t think about it, just does it”……….
Well she did it and she started off kind of slow with it and I told her, “Don’t be afraid of it, just do it, it’s only paint…..don’t spend a lot of time with this because it’s going to get covered up again anyway”……
Me: “Ok, now, open your eyes” she says…..”Oh, wow!” “Did I do that?”
“Yes you did”………”Now break up the spots that look like the sponge marks because remember, in nature nothing is perfect or repeats itself as the same size or shape and blend it with your badger brush, but don’t over work it” ………”Now step back and look at it………..” “Pretty, cool huh?”
The badger brush is one of the most over used tools in faux finishing and I see a lot of untrained faux painters take some of the most beautiful work and just ruin it because they feel this a rule or maybe it’s a natural reaction to the left side thinking again, who knows, but it’s an undisciplined reaction that is automatic that they do when it’s not necessary.
Anyway, she ended up creating the best looking marble sample in the class
This teaching technique built her confidence, because she was having that battle with what all creative individuals fight with, where the left side of the brain competes with the right side which inflicts doubt and prevents you from stepping outside of your comfort zone where your creativity lays. Creative people think outside of the box and are willing to take on challenges outside of their comfort zone, and once you understand how to work with both sides of the way you think you can, with practice, determination and with no fear accomplish anything……
That little tool I gave her boosted her confidence and even though her left side was telling her “Oh you can’t do this, look at it!, this really sucks!, Her right side was telling her to keep trying and add a little here and put a darker color there and she kept going despite of what was going on with the left side and she was able to push that doubt far enough in the background to keep trying, and because she knew all along that she could do this. Once you have an even balance of the way you think I believe anything can be accomplished, which is why I know so many different techniques and art forms. I am always venturing out for more because I know I can do anything, for instance, I taught myself video editing and now I record, edit, and produce my own “How to Faux” DVD’s, because I am at peace with and understand the never ending battle of the left and the right but that’s a whole new post, To bad the leader’s, and the politicians of the world couldn’t understand the creative psyche of the right and left side of the brain and how to use this tool to create a beautiful master piece.
Instead it is being used as a tool for greed and personal gain which in my opinion is where the “right wing and left wing” political terms have come from. The irony of it is very surreal to me, almost to the point of being evil, but again I am only an artist with an opinion and a dream of maybe one day all the leaders of the world really look at the artists way of expressing their thoughts, creativity, and ideas to be utilized instead as looked upon as just another painting, or just another sculpture, but they just can’t see past the evil that has actually masked the good that could become of it…….
Think about it……..
Peace!