Swan Studios Mural and Faux Finish Adventures: Give Me More!!!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Give Me More!!!

Give Me More!!!!

Give me more! That seemed to be this year’s mantra as happy clients requested more & more murals and faux finishes. Of course, that is music to an artist’s ears. If you are venturing into the world of specialty decorative finishes one of the best pieces of advice I can offer is “keep a record of what you paint”!!! I’m always astonished when I hear that an artist has no idea what colors or technique they used on a finish. I have been painting professionally for over 20 years and I have records on everyone. Sure it means you have to be disciplined and organized. As a business owner that is crucial though. Each client has a file with a paint diary page in it. I log the colors, paint finishes, ratios of mix, any unique technique, etc. And call me crazy, I will give the customer a copy of it if they would like it for their house diary ( If you are a home owner- please keep a diary of what is used in your home. Not just paint colors- ANYTHING! Grout color and brand, manufacturer’s info of appliances, etc.) Just as shocking to hear from a home owner as it is an artist that they have no idea what colors are in their home. Over the years I have come behind other artists to fix damages done to faux work. Maybe there was a pipe that burst or electric circuits reworked or wall moved, or whatever. Without records I have to reinvent the wheel.

Fortunately, because I do keep records on my clients, I was able to expand a beach board wall faux finish I created onto even more wall surfaces.

The original faux work was featured on the Swan Studios Inc. art blog at: http://swanstudiosinc.blogspot.com/2016/06/todays-weathered-report.html

The home owner’s loved the wall so much they called several months later and asked that the treatment be painted onto the kitchen bulk head. It made perfect sense and now the area looks even more fabulous.