Verdigris Tutorial

   Here it is, the promised Verdigris 'Faux like a Pro' tutorial. I knew I wanted to do something old-world style. I get most of my best ideas from objects or architecture. Now I look at an old spoon or painted pot differently. I often ask myself "I wonder if I can duplicate that color scheme or look."

    I certainly can't take all the credit for my wonderful dresser, like I mentioned I got a lot of my inspiration from Shelly, check out her cute blog. I found her picture through Google- I felt like out of all the faux verdigris picture, hers looked the most realistic to me.

   I prepped my piece with the usual simple green solution to clean off the old dirt and grime, then a little sanding here and there. Then I spray painted the entire piece with gold spray paint. I was hoping to go for a darker, more copper or bronze look, but the store I went to was out. It was one of those days I wasn't going to take another trip to the store. My husband was digging just the gold look. Sorry honey, that's just not my style :)

   I chose to use Provence and Antibes Green Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. They looked very similar to Shelly's colors to me and I already had them on hand. I began working in sections by dabbing green and blue spots everywhere.  I was careful to use a dry brush technique and wipe off my brush on the side of the can. I noticed too much of the paint was a problem. I tried to do more blue than green but I think I really kept mixing in green until I felt I had the color I liked. I used an old small 1/2 in craft brush from the Wal-mart. Nothing fancy. Then I just did crazy dabbing all different directions. After I had the whole dresser sufficiently covered and then paint was dry I was ready for the next step.

Shelly mentions using Gesso. Gesso is a white chalky paste used to prime canvases and other surfaces for oil or acrylic paint. Hmmm... it sounded a lot like chalk paint to me. (Small side note: I looked it up on the Web and found out that villabarnes.blogspot.com was using it to paint furniture. I just bought some to try out for myself). I didn't have any Gesso at the time, so I just watered down my ASCP Old White and brushed it on everywhere.  Before it completely dried, I used a spray bottle with water and misted the top coat. Then I just dabbed some of the excess water off. I really loved they way some parts looked with a dripping white film. It reminded me so much of what rain would do to a statue over time. When the white was dry, I used a a copper glaze, covering the whole piece in sections. I would quickly wipe away the glaze with a clean damp rag.

When it was all dry, I applied clear wax and did a small amount of distressing. I loved the darker brown color to show through but I also didn't like that you could tell it was wood so I kept the distressing to a small amount. This whole process was fairly quick and didn't take me much more time then a regular paint job would.

I'm going out of town for a few days up to Wyoming to visit some family. My dad is a great photographer and I'm hoping he can teach me to get a great shot. I'd love a beautiful horse photo to have printed on canvas and hung as art in my home. Come back to see my photos on Tuesday. Also tomorrow with the help of my husband, I will have some pics of a desk I finished today.

Jenine


Linking back to...
linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
www.kammyskorner.com
primitiveandproper.blogspot.com
www.theshabbycreekcottage.com
missmustardseed.com
romantichome.blogspot.com
www.funkyjunkinteriors.net
savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com