Hi y'all! Need advice please!

[Ruth]

Hi y'all! My sweetie has been in the hospital for 3 weeks and may be coming home soon. The mural business took a nose-dive around here, so I've been teaching painting and drawing classes to help make ends meet. I now have a full schedule of classes, and guess what??? MURAL JOBS! Four of them just waiting for me to have time for them.

The latest one I met just yesterday. Working with an interior decorator who comes up with strange requests. We have a deadline of Nov. 16, I can only work weekends because of my schedule, and she wants this:

Two white columns in the dining room are to be painted to look like amber! Has anyone done anything like this? It is to go with an amber-colored chandelier with faceted pieces of amber-colored glass. The columns don't have to look faceted, but she does want the effect of amber. Help!

The office walls are to be painted or faux-finished to look like leather and suede, reminiscent of book bindings. Never done leather-look either. Wish I had time to learn.

Then there's a molded ceiling piece over the kitchen table that has a pebbly surface, that she wants painted with an architectural look, like crown molding. I don't know if a straight even line can be painted on it with the pebbly surface it has. I may have to tell her I'm too old to do ceilings any more, but hate the thought of that. Maybe there's a way to do something interesting but my mind is overwhelmed.

Any suggestions or links or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Love ya,
Ruth

[Dave Hawk]

Ruth what is it you want to achieve ? a modeled look would look best on columns. i would start out with a very light bright yellow base mix up a glaze with maple stand and then golden oak stain. I would cover the column 100% with the maple stain glaze and then do a moddled oak glaze.

[Ruth]

Thank you Dave! I really don't know what I want to achieve since it isn't my idea. What kind of materials are you talking about? Oil based stains? I'm not familiar with maple stain glaze or golden oak stain. Are those something I can buy, or do I have to mix them from a formula? I have a couple of days to play around with it. What do I ask for in a paint store?

I've only ever done acrylic painting, not much with oil stains and glazes. The columns are painted white as a base, probably with acrylic or latex paint in a satin finish. Can I do your technique over that?

Thanks for your help!

Ruth

[Steve Orin]

The columns... I suspect that if you make them look like resinous amber you'll be sc*****. Think about a stoney look that has enuff of the color to match in but not look like amber. Stick with house paints.
The wall to look like leather... Are they smooth? Texture matters. Leather is a matter of a base & drbrushing of transparent colors over it. A delicate look.
The pebbly surface... I'd use spray from a small gun and 2" tape. You can drybrush too or use a delicate glaze.

[travellight27]

If I wanted to simulate amber , this is what I would do......Color match the lightest gold tone found in the piece of amber and paint the columns with a latex semi gloss or satin so you have some "slip" on the next glaze layer.

I'm an oil painter, so I would be using oils on the next layer. But I would make a caramel colored glaze , brush it on, and then with a very soft diaper or tshirt powder puff technique rag it back off till smooth, very smooth with no streaks or dry lines. Let dry. Repeat the process with a slightly darker glaze the next day, leaving lighter areas and darker area. Finally as a top coat, I would (using a very soft watercolor or sable brush) add some streaks as found in a piece of amber. ....And seal to whatever shine you want.

[travellight27]

One more thought, you can use Liquin by Windsor Newton as your glaze base if you use artist's oils and that will go on very smooth and give you sufficient open drying time to pat it out. You will have to let dry overnight between layers. Keep the mineral spirits out of the mix or you will lift the layer below.

[Dave Hawk]

Ruth you can get Behlin Stains and mix into oil glaze. I like using stain in glaze for the super transparency. If use over a vibrant light yellow you should be able to create an incredible Amber.

[BarbaraInFlorida]

interesting read! sorry to hear about your sweetie-this must be difficult for both of you. I would love to see the finished columns. a decorator that wants amber columns is nuts-I doubt amber would ever be found in such huge chunks! but whatever floats their boat. good luck.

[semper]

Hi, Ruth.

Hope I'm not too late to put in a couple of cents. Sounds like you have plenty of help re. the amber columns.

You did say the office walls can be suede, right? It is much easier to explain how to do suede than leather. Suede: Buy suede paint. I've always liked Ralph Lauren. Watch the video at the store, if that is still available or ask if they have the DVD with the instructions. I believe you can go to the RL website and watch the instructions there too, if I'm not mistaken. Basically, just follow the directions on the can, because they do work. Just on your first pass, which will be with the RL roller, be sure to move along quickly.
I can supply you with a leather technique for walls, if you want it, though. A lot to explain, so if the decorator will be happy with suede, do that.

So nice to know of someone getting mural work. Mural work has died around here.

[InteriorArtworks]

I know I am late with this but... I watched a documentary about an entire room in a Russian Palace that was made from Amber. It was stunning.
After determining your lightest base color, the most important thing besides the right color and texture would be transparency/depth (think candy paints on cars) I would approach this with a combo of glaze and lacquer toners with multiple layers and clear coats sprayed with my HVLP. I you do not have this equipment, look into your local wood finishing supplier for Star or Mohawk products, either of which carry a large variety of toners in aeresol cans and even have an Amber color pre mixed (This also works great when matching an old "ambered" topcoat. Another benefit would be that you would save a lot of time in application and dry time. Let us know if your done please.
Robert

[Ruth]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I went with my regular acrylic paints for first coat, here, and coated with clear polyurethane oil base.

/

Second coat I added some artist oil paint, burnt umber, to the polyurethane and painted it over the column. Now it looks more like this:



I think it's pretty, but haven't heard from the owners or decorator yet.


Now, about that ceiling: I got the painter to put a coat of light gold color on, then painted over that with acrylics, in burnt umber, burnt sienna, orange, yellow ochre. Then painted over that with metallic craft paint in several shades of copper and gold. The rivets really make it look like old copper. Then the decorator decided she wanted a design to go around it, so I used the acanthus leaf design from a coat-of-arms, and it makes me think of the armor that knights wore. The homeowners like it, they say it looks "kingly.' Glad to have that done!





I haven't heard any more about the leather and suede walls, but there is a fireplace before and after:

Before:


After: (That gray marble will be replaced by something with gold or amber in it.)

[Autumnwillow]

Oooooooh, COPPPPPER! I love copper... that ceiling is gorgeous, Ruth! All of it is, but the ceiling makes me drool a little

Michele

[debsn2paintn]

Gorgeous Ruth!

[sunnymoonndn]

Absolutely stunning.. You did an amazing job!!!! Thank you for sharing your artwork!!