Easy Textures you can do

With materials from the Home Improvement Store

This lonely little kitchen corner, in our Guest Cottage,  needed a bit of "interest".

This lonely little walk into my cellar needed a little humph.

My kitchen walls needed texture.  Straw from a nearby field was the ticket. 

The hall fireplace needed a textured chimney piece.

The entrance hall needed a stone wall. 

Empty spaces above windows needed a trumeau.

The "Fresco" to the Cellar.


In a hallway of the Castello Estense, Ferrara, Italy, you can admire an ancient Fresco at close quarters. 


What a surprise!  Except for the image, my frescoes have the same texture and appearance as those that I have painted and have shared with my students at our local college workshop.

All of the above examples I have created with dry wall compound  and builders sand.  

Here is how to paint a fresco swag.

Mix 12 cups of builders sand with one box of dry wall compound.

Apply with trowel in broad strokes (not circles). 

Let dry, draw design onto wall with acrylic paints.

Note: You can use a stencil if you're not sure of your success in free hand painting.

When dry, cover (yes) your art work with a thin layer of your dry wall mixture. Let dry. Wet an ordinary kitchen sponge and scrub across the parts you want to reveal or " bring out".  

Last layer, mix dark beer with colorant (artist gouache, universal tints, or dirty paint water) and with large soft brush, cover the entire surface.  Use colors such as burnt umber and burnt sienna for an antique look. 

See what you can do?  

Have a wonderful weekend my dear 

Blogging Friends,

Gina 

Putti flying overhead

You can have Angels flying overhead

A few life-sized stencils and a little paint is all you need

These were painted "on the ground" and then attached to the ceiling

Never pass up a new building site without asking for permission to "harvest" a few Drywall pieces

Stenciled onto dry wall slabs, added freehand garlands and flowers

The edges are broken off and the entire piece is aged with furniture stain

I wanted to give the impression that the painted panels were rescued from a historic site

To begin with, the idea was to temporarily attach the panels to the ceiling in order to determine the spacing. 

I was then going to paint a blue sky and Putti onto fabric canvas and attach it to the dining room ceiling

For now I explain, if asked, that the Putti were broken away from an ancient Fresco.

Gina

Stencils: Royal Design Studio

Fresco Art, How To

In a hallway of the Castello Estense, in Ferrara, Italy, you can admire a fresco in close quarters.

What a surprise! Except for the image, the fresco had the same texture and appearance as those that I have painted and have shared with my students at our local college workshops.

Close-up of my Fresco Technique

Location of Fresco ... stairs to the Cellar

The Swag

The Secret is the Sand, it gives it the "Fresco Look"

Here is how:

Same recipe as in an earlier post for Stone Walls.

12 cups of 35 grit builders sand to one box of dry wall compound.

(Sand is essential, prevents fresco from cracking)

Apply in broad strokes (not in circles) with 6 inch trowel

Let dry and paint image with acrylic paints

Here comes the hard part: you have to cover part of your art work with a thin layer of mud (dry wall compound with sand) again using a trowel. Let dry.

Wet an ordinary kitchen sponge (one that has a scrubber on one side) and scrub across the part you want to reveal or bring out. Soon you will accumulate some of the sand on your sponge. That is good because it helps remove some of the paint and some of the base. Let dry.

Last layer. Mix dark beer with colorant (artist guache or Universal tints) and with large soft brush cover entire surface. Use colors such as burnt umber and burnt sienna for an antique finish.

Admire your masterpiece

Gina