18 January 2010

Before and after of my armoire. Tres chic, n'est pas?

How to paint an Armoire

This French armoire was bought in a local sale in England very cheaply but a little worse for wear and needing a bit of tender loving care. We fixed it up so the door opened and closed properly, then set about painting it.

When something is quite ornate already becasue of the carving, I like to bring this out but not add to much colour and busyness otherwise you detract from the piece of furniture.


1. I first painted it all over in Country Grey, my Chalk Paint the colour of putty.

2. When this was dry I painted just the areas which were raised carving in Old White, my white which is like the colour of chalk.I just used the edge of the brush to put the white in rather than being very careful to help with the distressed look.

3. With a big brush and clear wax I brushed all over the dry paintwork

4. After wiping off any excess wax I then sanded the raised carving rubbing through to the Country Grey underneath and to the wood in some places.

5. I then appled some dark wax all over the carving and in the corners of the panels too then wiped off the excess leaving some quite dark wax in some places.

11 January 2010

Red Chairs




The red chair backs are in both the painting by Emile Nolde 


and the dining room at Charleston in Sussex

There's loads of black and blues too in both pictures but the balance is different so they look different. You can the colours from the Nolde but not use them so intensely. 
Inspiring stuff to get you going on a room.



10 January 2010

Goya's Brushwork




I like the broad wide bands of colour that Goya used that probably developed from designing tapestries that couldn't be too fussy and detailed.

9 January 2010

Francis Cadell, Scottish Colourist


Francis Cadell (1883 - 1937) Scottish colourist. I am so impressed by the way the slabs of cool colours are used with just a little of the hot orange and pink.

8 January 2010

Craigie Aitchison




Craigie Aitchison died on December 21st 2009 aged 83. Beautiful colour. Look out for his other work.
He was Scottish and highly influenced by Gauguin. http: