I have moved!

All things paint and plaster... — Sat, 01 May 2010 03:51:01 +0000

I have moved All things paint and plaster… over to: http://allthingspaintandplasters.blogspot.com/

Please join me!

I miss this!

All things paint and plaster... — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:16:24 +0000

I just came across several issues of the now demised House & Garden magazine.

I certainly miss it! While Veranda, AD, ID, Traditional Home, etc. are the go-to magazines, I used to really look forward to browsing House & Garden’s unique view of the design world. It was slightly more down-to-earth, but savvy just the same.

I particularly liked the floral and garden coverage. And they seemed to be in the forefront of the green movement coverage as it related to our own homes.

May it one day return!

Mosaics a la Venice

All things paint and plaster... — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:03:53 +0000

Talk about patience! These intriguing mosiac photos are taken in the Venetian atelier of Angelo Orsoni. The company was founded in 1888 and is located close to the Cannaregio canal in the Cannaregio district, off of the Grand Canal.

These glass tiles, or smalti, are made according to the original recipes with glass and pigments, poured into slabs, cooled and cut into miniature pieces. The Orsoni mosaics are really exquisite fine art and are shipped all over the world.

The following photos are courtesy of Maisons Cote Sud. Photography by Bernard Touillon.

: Orsoni mosaic library

up close

Powder pigment

These last two mosaics were picked up at an antique sale. They were made in Italy by students at an art school in Venice.

I would love to see other mosaic examples. Care to share?

Cultivated Pleasures

All things paint and plaster... — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:08:50 +0000

After visiting Greet’s lovely new outbuilding in this Belgian Pearl post (here) and admiring Trish’s poppies and David Austin roses in this Trouvais post (here), I thought I’d share some bits of my garden with you. The tulips, helleborous, magnolia and dogwood are in full bloom now, with the lily of the valley, tree peonies and lilacs almost ready to burst.

Before I started painting and plastering, I really wanted to open a garden accessories and antique shop. I would have named it Cultivated Pleasures as I’ve always loved that name. Wouldn’t that be a perfect blog name? Hmmm….

The small round leaves in the foreground are European ginger. We split them every year as they make a wonderful ground cover.

rock tulip

helleborus

hostas

dogwood

peony unfurling

peony almost open

Have a fun weekend!

Veggies and fruits for your walls

All things paint and plaster... — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:26:40 +0000

I chuckled when I saw this ad for Tollens paint, but it demonstrates a great way to transform your color preferences and ideas into actual colors for your walls. Gather up those photos you’ve been setting aside and take them to the paint store for color matching. Or ask your decorative painter to create a special finish based on the fish you’ve got in your hands!

Tollens paint

I found these veggie images with great color:

Credit

and when I saw the recent issue of New York Spaces magazine with the articles on using color in the home, the veggie and fruit colors just leaped out from the paper:

Credit

New York Spaces Photo by Brian Park

This is a lime plaster sample I created on textured wallpaper.

Lime plaster on textured wallpaper

These fun peach colors…

Credit

certainly made their way into this room!

New York Spaces Photo by Brian Park

Who can resist these luscious colors?

Credit

They were my starting point for this sample of paint and water-based waxes.

Paint and water-based waxes

You can find color ideas everywhere, even in the kitchen!

A fleeting moment

All things paint and plaster... — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:34:04 +0000

Can you imagine spending many weeks preparing to install a work of art, followed by three weeks of the actual installation in a museum, only to have it painted over once the exhibition closed? On purpose?

Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Artist Richard Wright did just that. The Glasgow-based artist won the Turner prize last December in the Tate Britain Museum for his untitled, baroque-style fresco that is created with gold leaf on the entire wall of a gallery. Wright began with the traditional pounce method used in fresco: a cartoon (drawing) was pierced with holes through which chalk was rubbed. Once the cartoon was removed, a “ghost” outline was left. He then sized (applied a special adhesive for the gold leaf) the outlined areas, followed by the application of the gold leaf at just the right time. If the size is too dry, the gold leaf will not adhere. If the size is too “wet”, the gold leaf becomes dull. Honestly, how he did it in just three weeks amazes me!

AP photo / Akira Suemori

The fresco, seen from afar, seemed like an abstract design but up close, the design was composed of landscape images such as clouds and sun. It was said to be mesmerizingly beautiful.

Once the Turner exhibition was finished, the fresco was painted over. Whew! Wright said: “To see a work knowing that it will not last emphasizes that moment of its existence”.

Credit

France 24

Weekend Favorites: Aged Patina

All things paint and plaster... — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:16:15 +0000

Aged patinas always catch my eye. It’s a way to see into the past and appreciate the artistry of people before us. With all of the technology we have at our fingertips, don’t you just wonder how they did it one hundred, five hundred, a thousand or two years ago?

Veranda magazine

Carolyn Quartermaine Revealed

House Beautiful magazine

Tara Shaw

Rust Patina

All things paint and plaster... — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:57:31 +0000

Rust patina, whether it is an applied finish or the actual rusting of iron or steel, is beautiful in its own organic way. It is used in many commercial applications, but is also incorporated into home designs. The fireplace is created with plates of rusted steel.

House Beautiful

Rust steel fireplace

chemetalco steel backdrop

The following are photos of the first designer gas station in Spain, just outside of Madrid. The curved canopies are made out of corten steel plates and left to rust naturally.

Repsol service station

Repsol service station, aerial view

In order to create a rust patina, there are several items to pay attention to. You must start out with special paints, whether iron, copper or bronze, that are specifically made for this purpose. These water-based, acrylic paints contain a large number of actual metal particles, rather than mica flakes or pigment. The finely ground metal flakes create the look of a true metal surface. One applies a solution that speeds up the natural oxidation of the metal to develop the rust patina.

When applying the rust solution, careful attention needs to be paid to the product’s instructions. Because the solution is usually a mild acid, proper precautions should be taken, such as gloves meant for chemical protection and a face mask.

The next photo is a class sample from the All Aglow: Patinas and Metallics class at my studio.

Rust patina

When I moved into the old warehouse studio, this is one of the doors I needed to finish:

After I filled in the texture of the wonderful “wood”, I primed and then painted two coats of iron paint. Then the fun began! Several rust patina solutions were applied in every which way. I think the door is touched more than any other door I’ve seen! One caveat: because the rust patina is a result of a very organic process, it is not possible to accurately predict a specific shade of rust. The results are based on many conditions, such as temperature, humidity and air quality. Samples are definitely a good idea before beginning the final finish.

And, yes, it is sealed. You should definitely seal a rust patina if it is going to be exposed to extreme weather or if folks will come into contact with the finish.

However, do not seal with a polyurethane. Seal your rust patina with a high quality acrylic or solvent-based sealer.

door before

Finished door

closeup

Oversized Damasks

All things paint and plaster... — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:13:23 +0000

Yes, I do love damasks, especially oversized damasks. They catch my eye every time, especially those incorporated into small, usually glass, tiles. They demand to be admired.

Damask, thought to have originated in Damascus, Syria, is probably the most popular woven pattern with any complexity. It enjoyed enormous favor in Europe from the mid-15th century on and is still favored today.

I am still working on a texture finish of small mosaic tiles with a gold leaf damask pattern. As soon as I get far enough, I’ll post pictures.

In the meantime, enjoy these oversized damasks!

: Photography by Marcel Wanders Studio

: Photography by Peter Margonelli

San Marco wallpaper Quadrille Fabrics

Bergonzi wallpaper Nina Campbell through Osborne & Little

Eau Spa at Ritz-Carleton Palm Beach

Friday Favorites

All things paint and plaster... — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:33:23 +0000

Friday means fun and favorite things to me. Just knowing that soon you’ll have a couple days off automatically boosts my spirits!

Here are a few of my favorite images and inspirations.

What a fun way to create a focal point in the room and make your bed’s headboard at the same time. This work of art could have been created with paints or Venetian plaster.

Painted headboard in French Style at Home

I saw this charming set of cafe doors in Paris, which inspired me…

Cafe doors in Paris

to create this plaster finish for a client’s powder room:

French Indochine finish

In France, this is a must see store to visit for me. I love their print ads!

Ressource Paints

In the book, French Style at Home by Sebastien Siraudeau, I saw this damask settee and

Damask settee in French Style at Home

actually based this finish on it for a living room. Six panels of varying widths were completed and framed (frames are not on yet here) with molding.

Metallic damask finish

My favorite way to choose a finish for a client is to have them bring me their inspirations; I’ll take it from there and dream and experiment till we nail it!