Monday, January 6, 2014

Chalk paint and the Little Red Chair



So a long time ago I bought this little rickety chair with the intention of painting it.  So finally this weekend I took a furniture painting workshop using Chalk Paint at Peinture Studios in Costa Mesa.  Chalk Paint was developed by Annie Sloan in England 20 years ago and has only been in the states for about 2 years.  It is an amazing product and lots of fun.

What's the big deal you ask?  How about no and I mean no priming, sanding or prepping is involved.  Just start painting.  Even on a glossy finish, the paints will stick.  Crazy huh? Here is my little chair in progress, see no primer.  I decided to leave the iron braces rustic.  Being raw wood and very weathered it took the paint with no problem but others in the class had finished pieces of furniture and they also just started painting.

When finished you use a wax to finish and seal the piece but because I was putting mine back out in the garden I just used a very, very fine sandpaper all over to burnish it  and wiped it down with a damp cloth.  The sanding also removed the paint from the round head nails which I liked as well.  I have already bought the paint to do another large old wooden chair I have had for years.  It too will find a home in the garden….and then there's the narrow table upstairs or maybe that old nightstand in the garage…………

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Botanicals or Marine Creatures?

The last post from 2013....started out playing with more botanicals but I think it kind of looks more like underwater creatures.  Happy New Year!

5"square Handbook
 Pen and Pencil