Swan Studios Mural and Faux Finish Adventures: December 2018

Sunday, December 16, 2018

As Bright White as Christmas Snow

‘Tis the season for all things sparkling, twinkling, and gleaming as bright as the North Star. And that perfectly describes this week’s featured faux finish. Gone is the dark wood tone with deep grin texture and aged brass handle finish. This furniture set is now gleaming white in bright white lacquer and boasts an ultra- smooth sleek texture and shiny bright brass handles.

The old finish is sanded and primed. Wood fill and epoxy paint fill gives to a sleek feel. Even epoxy white paint is not as bright as white lacquer so another layer of primer is needed before adding the lacquer. Lacquer is thin and dries quickly. Buffing between layers creates the much- craved modern mirror finish. The new look is as fresh as newly fallen snow.

Want to convert your furniture to a new finish? Contact me at Swan Studios Inc

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Sunday, December 9, 2018

A Vacation To Remember

A Vacation to Remember

I have the pleasure of meeting some lovely people through my work. While it seems the world is restless and constantly fighting, God has blessed me with days of enjoyment and creating. I’m truly thankful for these blissful days of paint brush in hand and listening to the stories of my customers. I recently met a gentleman, twice widowed, who shared stories of his travels through Europe with his past wives. Through his second wife, he gained an appreciation and love of art. He showed me around his home to see his collection. Gorgeous pieces and each one with a unique story. So I am truly honored that he chose me to paint a scene from one of his favorite places- Italy, of course. Not something grand, but something comfortable. A place he fondly remembers walking down the cobblestone paths as he and his wife created memories that now fill his days.

The room to be painted was what we call a “Florida Room”, an outdoor roofed area that has been enclosed.

A closer look:

Sideview:

Have a favorite location you would like painted? Contact me at Swan Studios Inc: www.swanstudio.net/

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Sunday, December 2, 2018

Going Dark to See the Light

“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present”- Sir Francis Bacon

The juxtaposition between light and dark is a common theme in throughout our literature, movies, and Biblical stories. Typically, Light symbolizes hope, love, and purity. Meanwhile Darkness symbolizes fear or evil. In today’s illustration, however, it is quite literally “You can only appreciate the Light when Darkness is present”.

The faux finish request was for a German Schmear over brick. German Schmear is a beautiful classic aged effect over bricks. It’s a step beyond using whitewash on bricks. Instead of diluted white paint, a layer of wet mortar is applied. Areas can be skipped to expose some of the bricks or the mortar can be knocked back. The home exterior had been painted a pale grey. The pale grey had even been painted over the front brick façade. Since removing paint out of brick is not exactly the easiest thing in the world. In fact, it’s down right grueling. Furthermore, the idea was to go with a grey scheme. But the beauty of the mortar wash wouldn’t show well on the solid pale grey paint. I opted to faux paint the brick area as dark grey bricks. I used 5 various shades ranging from medium to black. Then the mortar was applied. The result is delightful! A gorgeous classic finish in today’s sought- after grey color scheme.