I don't know about you but I absolutely love faux finishes! Before I ever considered myself an artist I was using different faux finishes to warm up my home's walls and furniture, anything from simple antiquing to faux marble and exotic wood grains. So during this interlude before my dear hubby takes my mammoth landscape out of my studio so I have room to prep other canvases I thought I'd play around with some faux finishes.

Be on the watch for a whole class coming up on different finishes. But to start off I thought I'd show you a simple antiquing technique on some 3x3" cradled panels that I had purchased, from Jerry's Artarama online, for the 3x3 Post It Note Exhibit at the SMAC Art Center scheduled in October. It's a little early, but hey, I don't like to wait until the last minute.

These panels don't need a lot of paint to cover, so I used a beautiful transparent Indian Yellow from the DecoArt Traditions paint line and squeezed out an equal portion of Traditions Multi-Surface Sealer, I blended them together with my trusty palette knife.  This small amount was enough to cover three panels. I didn't need an additional coat of paint, but if you try this and don't feel the wood is fully covered apply a second coat without the sealer in it.

I used a 1" Flat DecoArt Traditions Brush to apply the paint. By using a large size brush the chance of streaking is less. It is always a good rule to use the largest brush that will fit the surface (or the element you are painting). It cuts down on painting time and streaking. Once the paint was dry, I sealed it with DecoArt Glazing Medium, diluted with a few drops of water. TIP: I use Solo plastic jello shot cups with lids to store my diluted glazing medium. It keeps for a very long time. The sealer would have worked also but remains shiny when dry, which can be distracting during the other steps.

Once dry I dressed my brush in the glazing medium and then picked up some Burnt Sienna. I painted the panel, then lightly wiped it off with a paper towel, wiping more in the center than the corners. I painted (and wiped) the top first, and then did one side at a time so I could wipe the glaze before it dried. Because of the added water to the glaze it dries quickly. I used two coats to reach this mildly antique look.

Once the Burnt Sienna glaze mix had dried, I brush mixed the glaze medium into a #8 Dynasty Black Gold Filbert then picked up a touch of Burnt Umber. I applied this to the corners of the panel to darken, lightly wiping to reveal the other layers of color. Then I "scraped" my filbert along all the edges and the side cradle joints. This photo shows what the scraped on paint looks like before wiping. I had to do this several times to get all the edges and corners to be dark enough for the look I wanted. 

Here is a photo of the three stages side by side:

See how the glazing really knocked down the intensity of the Indian Yellow. The final stage almost looks like a piece of aged maple. It has that same warm glow but with a bit more oomph.  Hmmm...now what to do with these 3x3? Tune in next week to learn how to transfer vintage graphic designs (copyright free). These are so fun and easy. It doesn't take an artist to create these, but it will look like it does when you see them.

If you would like to learn more faux techniques let me know. And if you liked this little lesson please share with your friends and comment. Google really likes comments. So until next time stay safe, stay healthy and stay in God's shining light.

--Signing Off

Lynnette Horn