Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Our first contestant!

Our first brave soul is Lisa! 
Help a sista out, will ya?
 
OK, I'll play....  Unfortunately, I just started painting this today so I guess I'm too late with this piece?    Paled down Paris and Old White
 

 
But what I'm stumped about is....

1.  The vertical grooves on each front corner rail.  They are Old White inside the grooves.  IDK about this.  I plan to dark wax it but question if it's 'too too' and if I should just grey it out
2.  Would anyone know a good easy trick for painting such grooves in the future?  They are a nightmare for me and turns an easy project into some type of hell.
3.  The bands of Old White on feet.  LOL  Not sure.

This was a puzzle!   Oh Gosh I have a few untouched that I'm stumped over though!    So if 'in progress' pieces count, here's mine.....   I so wanted to post to your FB page today to see if you or anyone knows a trick for painting grooves so I'm all happy right now!
 
What are YOUR suggestions to Lisa?

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Sorry about comment #1, I despise typos. I would mix 2 parts Clear Wax and 1 part Dark Wax for a subtle antiquing. I LOVE how you did the bands at the feet. If you want those grooves darker, use a natural bristle artist's brush to highlight with straight dark wax. I think you did a fabulous job on this piece!

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  3. Patina - Thank you. I'll definitely be dark waxing it though I'm fairly terrified of this as I am horrible with dark wax. I'm always unsatisfied with the result. Always, I'm happy with what I painted then 'ruin' it with brown.

    I've tried mixing with clear, mixing it with mineral spirits (too watery), but not mixing clear/brown/mineral spirits together and I wonder if that's the key. I believe I've tried a 2 parts clear to 1 dark before but I'll for sure try that again. Just wonder if I should add a few drops of mineral spirits to that. IDK. I sure struggle with it. I am also on the fence with the wax brush vs. a sponge or something. Been using brush.

    My Old White in the grooves looks sloppy so I hope to again try to pretty that up tomorrow but honestly unless I find a better way to deal with them… never again will I do 2 colors there!

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    1. you can lightly distress it, that will blur the lines where the colors meet. Also, maybe it's the color of the wax you aren't loving. You can tint the clear wax with a bit of Graphite and Paris Grey for softer look....
      I advise against a sponge to apply wax. You'll waste a lot and your coverage will be wonky! If you don't love using your wax brush, just use a soft t-shirt or an old towel.

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  4. What about dry brushing blue onto the grooves, ya know, to camoflage a bit. I hear ya on the dark wax. What about an antique glaze if you want to go that route?

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  5. oh, with respect to painting the grooves...it's easier to paint them whatever color you want them to be first, then paint on the top color, without forcing it into the grooves. I usually don't bother with making them a different color, as it doesn't have a huge impact, especially once I dark wax.

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  6. Stiltskin - Yes, I painted it all white then tried to keep Paris Grey on the 'top' but it ended up a bit wonky. The groove edges might be a bit softened. I'll play with it but for sure I won't try this again LOL.

    Re mixing paint with clear wax.. I've tried that and it seems to create a bit of a muck. As if they don't go together well. Perhaps I'll try a few drops of Mineral spirits.

    With this piece, I'm tempted to do a light color wash on the paris grey banding to chill the contrast down a bit. I'm a big fan of color washing

    Thank you!

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