Artist Inspiration and a Mini Tutorial

Spent an afternoon at my friend Nancy's art studio the other day. It's a real art studio...It’s inside a very cool old building that's located on the water near Annapolis and occupied by three awesome creative women. It's so inspiring. There's stuff everywhere, art everywhere, paint everywhere, supplies everywhere...I mean it's genuine. Anyway, enough of the effusive drooling...

Nancy invited me down for the afternoon to teach me how to create an old world plaster look for one of my clients… signs that I'm creating for her rental properties. After a couple of attempts and Nancy's patient teaching, I think I finally got the hang of it. I left the studio with one practice sign and three other signs, ready for the next paint treatment, which is glazing. Here's a sneak peek (in the really cool studio) of the base coat. I am hopeful that I'll be able to show you the finished product by next week. I have eight signs to finish by the 25th. She only needs four of them by then, but I'm hoping to surprise her with the entire order. The other signs will be hand painted with a semi-crackle finish and maybe some texturized sections. I'm practicing new techniques right now. I wish I could share all my techniques, but honestly, I use a trial and error approach. However, here's one tried and true crackle method that I can show you right now:

Supplies:

• Elmer’s Glue (I'm told this brand works best)
• Two colors of craft paint
• Paint applicators (I use sponge applicators)

1. Paint your base coat on your canvas, wood board, box, dog, whatever. This is the paint that will show through your topcoat. Let it dry.

2. Apply a coating of glue. Thicker coats provide a heavier crackle finish. If you want a subtler and smaller crackle effect, then apply a thinner coat of glue (which I did on top). Don't let it dry...wait a few minutes until it is tacky.

3. Coat with the top layer of paint (a different color and the primary color). Important: Just paint over one time...don't brush back and forth or it won't work as well.

4. Crackles will appear as it dries.

Tip: Practice to get the desired effect.
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