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Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Terri
Category:
Tips
Title: Time-Saving Tip
By: Sally Van Nuys-Brown
Wallternatives, Amherst, OH
When
stenciling on walls or ceilings, a step
ladder with a tray is indispensible. The
one I use, by Cosco, has a top-step platform
(very secure and safe) and a full tray with
wells, holes, and a drawer that easily holds
all the supplies I need. This eliminates
countless trips up and down the ladder.
Combine this with the pocketed painters'
apron I wear (to hold brushes, extra gloves,
and rags), and once I'm up I don't have
to come down until I am ready to move the
ladder to the next location.
Time-saving convenience and more professional.
Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Terri
Category:
Business
Title: Business Tip - Portfolio Building
By: Sally Van Nuys-Brown
Wallternatives
Always
take color photos of your clients' jobs
BEFORE and AFTER you paint! Prospective
clients can't always visualize what a dramatic
difference your work will make in their
rooms.
You will find that more people will trust
your work, have a clearer idea of what a
difference it will make in their home, and
be better able to steer you in the direction
they want to go with the job, if you can
show them a portfolio of before and after
photos of actual work you have done.
We sometimes forget about the before photos
and want to showcase the finished product,
but "seeing is believing" and it will bring
you more work!
Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Terri
Category:
Tips
Title: Painting Cinderblock Wall Tip
By: Sharon Anson
Here's
a tip for those of you wishing to create
a "real" looking cinderblock wall.
I've created this in my hallway/stairway.
I used quilting tape to create the mortar
space between the bricks. It creates a very
thin line and after the texture is created,
removes as easily as painters tape without
damaging the wall.
Having lots of fun!
Sharon Anson
Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Terri
Category:
Tips
Title: Airbrush Stencil Tip
By: John Nakata
I've
been airbrushing for a little over 4 years,
and I came across
a really cheap method for stenciling.
I use waxpaper and spray adhesive when I
do my stencils. The waxpaper is inexpensive
and easy to cut. The adhesive remains tacky
for you.
The only catch is after you spray it on
you have to let it set for about 10 to 15
mins. Works great for tees.
Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Martin
Category:
FauxFinishing
Title: Knowledge for Sale!
By: Daina Darzin
by Daina Darzin
Originally published in PWC (Painting
and Wallcovering Contractor)
The Faux Finish School: 17th-century
castle wall recreated from 11 layers
of drywall and plaster using Faux Effects
products.
Want to make $50-100
an hour?
Successful decorative
painters can do just that, which is one
reason faux finishing schools are making
themselves available in many configurations,
from traditional classroom instruction to
videos to interactive Web sites.
"It's much more
lucrative," stated Martin Alan Hirsch,
director of The Faux Finish School in Louisville,
KY. Hirsch's contracting company, Decorative
Finishes Studio, just finished extensive
work in the home of a country music star,
he said, and "our income from three
weeks there was probably what a regular
painter contractor makes in six months."
Faux finishing classes are geared for everyone,
whether you're a rank beginner, an art school
dropout looking to start a new business,
or a working painting contractor. Several
instructors emphasized that you don't have
to be an artist to do faux finishes. Many
of the techniques are very simple, although
other, more complex methods involve duplicating
woodgrain or marble, which can require as
many as 15 separate steps, as well as trompe
l'oeil ("fool the eye"), which
does involve some artistic skill. The range
of classes available includes everything
from economically priced quick overviews
to a glamorous excursion to Europe to practice
hands-on faux finishing in an Italian villa.
Whichever you choose, the timing couldn't
be better: In terms of design trends, high-end
homeowners are striving to make their abodes
more individual and luxurious than ever.
Both current trends - homey, authentic Old
World looks and clean-lined, elegant contemporary
designs - lend themselves to faux applications.
Traditional-minded clients favor such techniques
as layered peeling paint and plaster finishes,
as well as classic frescoes. "As crazy
as our society is, customers want a sense
of permanence in their home, not some contemporary
wallpaper that is out of style in six months,"
said Hirsch. Modern design, on the other
hand, is perfect for more subtle pearlized
and metallic faux finishes. Either way,
the market for unique decorative painting
is an ever-growing entity.
Back to school:
For those ready to take the plunge and make
a real commitment to decorative painting,
in-person schools offer a wide variety of
instruction. In most cases, the instructors
also run a full-time decorative painting
contracting business, thus keeping up with
current trends in the real marketplace.
Martin Alan Hirsch's The Faux Finish School
is a full-time working studio, now in its
12th year. Featuring three curriculums,
the first, The Art of Faux Finishing, is
designed for the contractor who wants to
get into the faux business. "We teach
the beginner or the person who's self-taught
the business and art of the field. We discuss
business and large-scale applications, including
prep," Hirsch said. The five-day course
costs $1,575.00
Where will they apply their newly developed
skills? Hirsch noted that in the residential
market, foyers, dining rooms, and kitchens
are the most requested location for faux,
while in commercial, it's a popular request
in restaurant design. "They all seem
to be getting on this 'We're tired of wallpaper'
bandwagon," he said.
Hirsch insists that great creative ability
is not a requirement for success. "With
our more advanced levels, yes, you need
to be a little artistic," he admitted.
"But the rest is product and technique,
and the business end of it. What makes us
different is that we teach people how to
do this as a business; to complement their
contracting business or go into this full
time."
The similarly priced Designer Wall Finishes
class, also five days, is geared for the
advanced decorative artist who has already
been in business for some time. Covering
more complex multi-layered finishes, such
as Old World frescoes, the class is designed
for pros who want new, impressive samples
for their portfolio. All of Hirsch's students
come in from out of town; a discount is
available at a hotel near the school.
Painting contractors frequently send their
most artistically minded employee to a faux
school, but Hirsch cautions this approach
can sometimes backfire. "The problem
that usually happens is we instruct them
so well, you lose them and they go out on
their own. They learn these techniques and
they see how lucrative this business is:
They're making $15 an hour and they could
be making $50." Hirsch said some contractors
make their employees sign a release, "saying
that we're going to send you to the school,
but you're going to be committed to me for
two years, otherwise you have to pay back
the cost of the school."
For those with more cash and time, the school's
third program is by far the most glamorous.
"We take a class to Italy for two weeks
and teach advanced marbling and woodgraining
in the field," Hirsch said. "We
stay in a villa in Tuscany. We also tour
the entire countryside - Venice, Rome, Florence."
The $4,200 for two weeks includes classes,
room and board, and everything but weekend
excursion travel and air fare from the student's
home to New York (air fare to Italy is included
in the package). "We base out of a
villa and travel to different locations.
This is where we take our students for inspiration."
Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Terri
Category:
Tips
Title: Paint Brush Storing Tip
By: Jamie Cosnowsky
For
storing small oil brushes, put a little
bit of lard on bristle and re-shape the
brush. The lard forms a hard coating and
protects the shape of the brush.
Before painting, swish the brush in thinner
or turpentine for a few seconds, and the
lard will melt away.
Posted
Sunday, September 24, 2001 by Terri
Category:
Tips
Title: Tip to Prevent Paint from Bleeding
By: Jamie Cosnowsky
Tip
to Prevent Paint from Bleeding onto a Wall
that cannot be touched up when painting
moldings and/or baseboards:
- Use
a low tack tape (test it to make sure
it doesn't pull off paint or fabric),
and put it as close to the base board
(if not in) as possible.
- With
a stripping brush, lightly dab acrylic
matte finish (golden's is good) into the
space between the bottom of the tape and
the top of the baseboard. It should dry
in under 10 minutes and the area is ready
for painting.
- Using
the back of a knife, lightly score the
tape and gently lift the tape. If done
correctly, the area should be clean!
Posted Monday, September 18, 2001 by muralsp1
Category: Beginner
Title: Striping
By: Janet LeBlanc
http://www.niagara.com/~jleblanc/
©
Janet LeBlanc 1997, 1998
janet@canada.com
IMPORTANT:
Please read the disclaimer
for these Faux Finishing pages. Feel free
to download this text.
You can create the image of vertical stripes
on your wall with a shadowing paint finish
by applying a tone on tone alteration
of flat and gloss stripes. This is one
of my favorite looks. Very elegant.
Unless otherwise mentioned, I recommend
using Latex Paints for the following Faux
Finishes. They're not as smelly as oil
based, they dry a lot faster than oil,
and they clean up with water. There are
more advanced techniques that work well
with oil based paints and glazes but for
our purposes here, water based is best.
Always try out your painting technique
on a piece of cardboard, or in a soon
to be repainted closet or basement wall
before you start your project. This allows
you to get familiar with it and saves
you from repainting the wall if you're
not yet satisfied with the results. Experiment
with different colours until you get the
results you like.
What You'll Need
- base
coat painted and cured for at least
one week.
- plumb
line or level
- 2
inch low-tack painter's tape
- one
litre of Acrylic Urethane Semi-Gloss
- one
3 inch foam brush
- a
friend to help
- some
music playing on the stereo
Follow These Easy Steps
Do not use masking tape for this Faux
Finish. Use only a low-tack painter's
tape. Masking tape will peel off your
paint. This is not a desireable look!
;-)
- Begin
by using a level or chalk line to
plumb your first piece of tape. Start
an inch or two in from a corner.
- Press
your first strip of tape into place
along and over the plumb line. This
is where the buddy comes in handy.
One of you should be at the top and
one at the bottom. (of the wall!!)
Warning: if you have snapped a plumb/chalk
line on your wall, make sure your
painter's tape covers it so you can
wash it off once the stripe is dry.
Otherwise if you've urethaned over
it you'll never get it off.
- Take
a small piece of tape and use it's
width as a spacer between your strips
of tape, (one near the top, one near
the bottom) to mark where you'll line
up your next piece of tape. This is
the easiest way to ensure your stripes
will be evenly and equally spaced.
- After
you've taped about 10 to 12 strips,
take your acrylic urethane and brush
it on the wall between your strips
of tape.
- While
the acrylic is still wet, gently peel
off the tape except for the last strip.
You'll need that one in place to continue.
You can re-use the pieces of tape
you've just pulled off.
- Keep
repeating steps four and five until
you've gone completely around the
room. It's a good idea to check your
plumb every time you round a corner.
It's less noticeable there if you
have to make an adjustment.
Allow your Faux Finish to cure for
a few days before hanging a border
or washing the wall.
Posted Friday, September 1, 2001 by Terri
Category: FauxFinishing
Title: Faux Finishing Marbling Tip
By: Ross O'Neal
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Faux
Finishing Marbling Tip
by Ross O'Neal
OCI
School of Decorative Painting Techniques
Marble finishes are all the rage
and actually, not that difficult
to achieve. Marbling can be done
on plates, gift boxes, plaques,
furniture, trim, floors, but keep
in mind it should be used in places
and situations where we find real
marble for the best effects. Here
Ross shares his technique for Greek
Rose Marble.
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What you will need:
- Ordinary
stain blocking primer
- Well
worn sea sponge
- Some
Soft Rags
- Palette-
3 small dishes will do
- Container
of water
- Container
for glaze
- Flat
lettering brush, fine pointed long
haired brush and a small round brush
- Wipe-out
tool
- Badger
Blender
- Satin
or gloss acrylic varnish or polyurethane
- Rubber
gloves if you feel they are necessary
- Glaze
is made from artist acrylic's and
water
Colors: For the base glaze we use:
6 parts titanium white
2 parts raw umber
2 parts ultramarine blue
dash of black
Red Glaze: Red oxide plus a little vermillion,
burnt sienna chrome orange
Palette colors: white ,black, burnt umber
raw umber, ultramarine blue
How to do it:
1. Prime the surface of the item using
primer.
2. Drag and dab the sponge over the
surface to give the background texture.
Add some of the palette colors to make
some areas stronger.Smooth with
blender when completed. this will dry
quick because it's water base.
3. Repeat the process with a darker
mix of the colors. Apply more random
so some of the 1st layer shows through.
Let dry.
4. Mix the red oxide; a lttle burnt
sienna, vermillion and chrome orange
and a little water. Make enough for
the entire project. paint over area,
leaving some areas uncovered, go back
over other areas again to add more depth.
With wipeout tool you can cut through
glaze to expose base in some
areas.
5. Make a very transparent glaze of
burnt umber and water. Sponge over red
areas mainly this is to add texture
to the red area. Now mix a darker
glaze of burnt umber and a little black.
6. Mix a opaque glaze of white plus
a touch of black, ultramarine blue and
raw umber, glaze should be a light gray-white
color.Apply over entire
surface with the corner of the worn
sponge lightly. Set aside for use later.
With the long haired fine pointed brush,
add light veining in raw umber,
make wavy breccia lines in all directions
some crossing others.
7. Add white to lighten gray white glaze
from above, with the pointed brush outline
one side of most of the gray shapes
to create a shadow and
add depth.
8. With the round brush outline some
gray areas with white glaze with a touch
of yellow ochre. With the fine pointed
brush add veins in broken
stepped lines of various sizes across
surfaceas seen on the sample. Once varnished
the surface takes on the sheen of marble.
Tips for Veining
Variety is the key here with veining,
give each vein its own character by changing
their width and color depth . All this
can be controlled with
the pressure and the color strenghth on
the brush. Think about the marble you
are reproducing as you work you want to
capture the fragmented look
of the marble. Veins should be like small
fragments they should tremble slightly.
They should not be straight or look like
crows feet or snake
tongues.
Click
Here to view a sample of this technique.
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