Vintage painted sideboard by Jonathon Marc Mendes

When I announced that Jonathon Marc Mendes would be my latest Painter in Residence on Monday, the response from you was phenomenal. If you are already familiar with Jonathan's work, I'm sure you'll be excited to see what he has created for his residency, and this incredible piece will surely not disappoint.

Inspired by Jonathan's love of typography, vintage signs, bygone circus and fairground imagery, this piece is beautifully crafted to create a sense of history.

Using Aubusson Blue for the main body, Jonathon used a variety of Chalk Paint® colours to create a rich, moody and slightly masculine colour palette.  I love the addition of Brass Leaf – it gives a real sense of faded grandeur. Lashings of Dark Chalk Paint® Wax over the paint just add to the story.

Jonathan expertly hand painted all the imagery and fonts you see here. If you want to create something similar, but are a little afraid of hand painting designs yourself, why not try my Image Medium? Transferring printed images is really simple if you know how, just take a look at one of my previous blog posts to find out how.

So what do you think of this Jonathan's first project as Painter in Residence? Has it inspired you to include typography in your own work? Let me know by tagging me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @anniesloanhome. 

Yours, 

Annie 

Gilded Trunk

I'm so excited finally to introduce my new Gilding Wax. I have lots of inspiring projects to share with you that feature the wax – and I can't wait to see how you use this new product, too!

My Gilding Wax comes in five colours: Warm Gold, Bright Gold, Dark Silver, Bright Silver and Copper. Whatever colour you choose, the wax is perfect for bringing out carvings and details on furniture – or even for doing something a little more adventurous, just like this painted trunk!

This project comes from my son, Felix, who works with me at Annie Sloan HQ and is the co-author on my book 'Room Recipes for Style and Colour'. He transformed this old chest with Chalk Paint® and three Gilding Wax colours. I love the contrast between the Gilding Wax and the rich blues he painted on the chest. The overall look is modern and bohemian.

If you'd like to try this project at home, you will need: 

Chalk Paint® in Aubusson Blue, Florence and Graphite 

Clear Chalk Paint® Wax

Annie Sloan Gilding Wax in Bright Gold, Warm Gold, and Copper

Annie Sloan Pure Bristle Brush
Annie Sloan Wax Brush

Masking Tape

Newspaper

Step One – Using a Pure Bristle Brush, paint your trunk in Aubusson Blue all over, moving the brush in every direction to create a textured finish.  

Step Two – Once the paint has dried, use my frottage technique to create a distressed look. Mix water with Graphite to around the quantity of single cream. Moving quickly, paint an area with this wash and then before it has dried, place a crumpled piece of newspaper over the top. Gently remove the newspaper to reveal the patterned paintwork underneath. Repeat all over the piece. Paint little squares in Florence on the bottom corners of the trunk.

Step Three – Once you are happy with the paint finish, apply a quick coat of Clear Chalk Paint® Wax all over.

Step Four – Use masking tape to mark out your design for gilding. Make sure to gently place the tape down so as to not remove any of your lovely paintwork when you peel it back! 

Step Five – Apply Gilding Wax using a wax brush, working the wax in as you go. You want to create movement in the finish so apply all three wax colours unevenly, highlighting different areas with Copper in some places or Bright Gold in another. Don't be afraid if some of the blue paintwork shows through, you want the overall look to feel aged and distressed. If you have brushed any Gilding Wax in a place you didn't want it to appear, you can use Clear Chalk Paint® Wax as an eraser, applying it over the top and rubbing the excess away.

Step Six – Once the Gilding Wax has dried, carefully remove the masking tape. And there you have it! If you want you extra shine, you can also give the whole surface a light buff the next day.

Has this inspired you to use my Gilding Wax? What will be your first project with this new product? Let me know by using the hashtag #AnnieSloanGildingWaxes and tagging me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @anniesloanhome

Yours,

Annie

Annie Sloan Christmas Shelfie: Gilded Wooden Logs

During the holiday season I find myself wanting to create all things shiny and bright, so you'll usually find me gilding anything in sight! These wooden logs were destined for the fire, but with just a little Gold Leaf they've turned in to something precious and worthy of their place on my Christmas Shelfie.

You will need:

• Metal Leaf (I've used Brass here, but Aluminuim or Copper would look equally grand and festive.)
• Gold Size
• Stencil Brush 
• Masking Tape 
• Dry (very important that they are dry!) wooden logs 

I love highlighting one texture by contrasting it with another texture that's the complete opposite, and knew that adding a 'bling' strip of gold across the bottom of my logs would bring out the gorgeous natural patina beautifully. 

Using masking tape to create a crisp, clean line tape off your design and apply Gold Size with a small brush (I used my Stencil Brush to push the Size in to all those nooks and crannies) to the area that you'd like to gild. The Gold Size looks pearlescent in colour when first applied and will become clear after 5-10 minutes - this is when you should apply the leaf. Place the leaf on to the wood, gently pushing it in to the crevices using your fingers, and then 5-10 minutes later brush the excess leaf away with a soft brush. 

Carefully peel off the masking tape and then apply a little Clear Chalk Paint® Wax, or if you want to tone down the brightness try adding a little Dark Chalk Paint® Wax too.

Here they are, don't they look glorious? It's such an easy, simple and inexpensive way to create gorgeous festive ornaments, and they've received lots of compliments already!

As always, I'm going to be posting them looking all fabulous on my Christmas Shelf later tonight over on my Facebook page, so make sure you keen an eye out for them!

Yours,

Annie.

Tim Gould's Memory Table

Please join me in giving the wonderful Tim Gould a round of applause. Tim has been working with me for the past few months as one of my Painters in Residence, and today I am sharing the last project created during his residency. Tim has developed a technique using my paint, Chalk Paint® and homemade vinyl stencils to apply text to furniture - to give it a voice of it's own, and to bring out it's real character.

Tim had this table for years, but its glass top had been smashed in an accident and was covered in stains and marks accumulated over the years. But these marks of age and the memories that accompanied them inspired Tim to give this table this wonderful transformation.

To achieve this look, Tim created word and image stencils on a computer, printed them on to vinyl, and applied them to the table surface. (The stencils are actually being used here in a reversed way - the stencil masks the details and shapes (the text and images)). Tim then painted over the table (and the areas that have been masked off with his stencils). To create a patina that looked brimming with history, Tim applied layers of paint - starting with Pure, Emperor's Silk, Provence and finishing with Graphite. He then sanded areas of the paint back to reveal the various colours beneath.

The words and shapes were highlighted by applying Loose Brass Leaf to the area around them. Once dry, Tim carefully peeled back the stencils/ masked areas to expose the letters and shapes.

To finish the piece, Tim covered the legs with Loose Brass Leaf, and then applied my Clear Soft Wax with a little Dark Soft Wax to add depth.

Have you got an old piece of furniture, whose marks of age could be turned in to a feature with a little Chalk Paint®?

Yours, Annie

Follow Tim on Instagram, Facebook, and his website: http://www.objectables.co.uk/

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest

The 12 Crafts of Christmas - No.7: Papier-mâché Lettering

For the seventh of my 12 Crafts of Christmas, I'm sharing these letters that have been made from papier-mâché and finished with my paint, Chalk Paint®, Copper Leaf and Dark Wax. These were made by Amy who works with me at Annie Sloan HQ. Amy studied Fine Art and used a lot of typography in her work, so this was the perfect project for her!

Amy started by printing her letters off, and then cut 2 of each letter out of cardboard. She then rolled up strips of cardboard, about an inch wide, to create spacers to sit between each letter cut-out, and attached them using masking tape. (See picture below.)

Using strips of newspaper, Amy covered the letters in newspaper, gluing the paper down with my Decoupage Glue and Varnish. This worked brilliantly as the glue really hardens the newspaper and makes a good surface to work on later. It also dries very quickly, which means you can begin painting the same day!

Using Florence from the Chalk Paint® palette, Amy painted the letters using one of my Pure Bristle Brushes to create lots of texture. Once dry, she painted the top surface with Gold Size, allowed the size to dry for 10-15mins and then applied Copper Leaf which she has crumpled in her hands. She finished by applying Clear Wax to the letters, and then worked Dark Wax in to bring out the texture and create an aged look.

Have you been using any of my paint or products this Christmas? I'd love to see your projects!

Yours, Annie

Follow #12CraftsofChristmas on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

A painted and gilded bath at Annie Sloan HQ

We’ve got a room here at HQ that we use as a studio, workspace and course room. It’s where I play around with ideas, create new pieces and explore techniques. It’s also where I hold training sessions for my Stockists (all my Stockists are trained as paint and colour experts). There’s a small room leading off this space where I’ve had an old roll top bath plumbed in – this is where we dye fabric with my paint! It’s a practical room, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t also be beautiful.

In my book Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture and More, I describe how I transformed the white enamel bath in my Normandy home by adding a resplendent copper leaf to the outside. I decided to do the same with our rather dilapidated old bath here in Oxford.

I’ve gone for a recreation – or perhaps an exaggeration! – of natural copper by applying it over a base of my colour Florence. If you like this idea, play around with it and make it your own. You could try this with silver leaf – perhaps over Emperor’s Silk, or gold with Aubusson Blue.

The soft, warmer tones in copper and rose gold are popular at the moment, and the natural progression of copper is to form verdigris. The pinkish-orange of copper and the pale green of a true verdigris patina form opposites on the colour wheel, a complementary colour scheme. I used Chalk Paint™ in Florence to paint the base of the bath. I then brushed it with my Gold Size and, when the size was completely clear, applied my copper leaf over it (crumple the leaf in your hands before putting it over the size to make sure the look isn’t too uniform). I let small gaps and cracks appear in the leaf so that a sublime flash of Florence green would peek through.

Once the whole thing had dried, I applied my Clear Soft Wax all over to give it some protection – this flattens everything out, giving a smooth finish. Next to the bath, a series of tiles provide a patchwork splash back (these beautiful Welbec tiles come from my Stockist Rock Pool in Cornwall, UK. I sent her several old postcards and letters to make the tile designs!).

Behind it, I painted the wall with Chalk Paint™ in Emperor’s Silk. I’ve stencilled the whole thing with two different designs (my Arctic Poppy and Petrushka stencils) to create a wallpaper effect.

The bath is so small it has to stand on a base to be practical as mixing heavy swathes of fabric can be pretty back-breaking. However, by painting it in Olive, a cooling green next to the bright red walls, the whole effect is rather grand and certainly pleasing.

Yours, Annie

Bookmarks (1)

For those of you who’ve just discovered my paint, Chalk Paint®, and think I might be new on the decorative painting scene (well, there might be some!), let me rekindle the book that really launched me all the way back in 1988.

  

It’s not the finish, it’s the start that counts

But first a bit of background. . . After studying for a degree and a Masters at art college, I moved to a small village in Oxfordshire with a young family, getting commissions from clients to paint murals and other finishes, and running courses and workshops. I learnt on the job, got my hands dirty and experimented with all sorts of weird and wonderful decorative techniques then in vogue – blocking, sponging, ragging, stippling, colourwashing, dragging, combing, flogging, spattering, marbling, tortoiseshellling, woodgraining, gilding, stencilling, and sgrafitto, to name a few. . . 

I relied on my art training, my passion for colour, my unceasing enthusiasm to experiment with different pigments and finishes, and a lot of trial and error. Having extensively researched the history and application of decorative painting, I realised that for such a wide subject there were very few accessible books around. That changed, as did my fledgling career, when I sat down to write The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques.

This is me being presented to my new readership for the first time inside The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques. I was still learning my trade. 

No flash in the pan

This exhaustive (and exhausting) title was my first published book, back in 1988. I’m pleased to say the result were well worth it: The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques sold in the hundreds and thousands, was translated into 13 languages, and it really launched 'Annie Sloan'. 

Looking back on it now, I am still amazed at how comprehensive it was. I especially like the colour inspirations with the strong blues (see page extract below), reds, and greens etc.. These show how my background in colour – and hence part of this blog’s title – goes back such a long way. I also loved putting the objects and materials together to be shot – creating these montages for inspiration – long before the days of Photoshop!

My co-author, Kate Gwynn, had a design and print background and went to the London College of Printing. She understood how you put a book together – not just the visuals but the presentation of written material and information with images. At the time, it was very new to me. This is Kate (below) in the book.

Kate and I lived in the same Oxfordshire village and her husband Stanley Smith was a painter at the Royal College of Art. He knew that Mobius – a newly set up book packager (production company) at the RCA – were looking to produce a new title. So that’s how the whole thing started (you can see Mobius’s input on the imprint page below).

Many of the interiors shown in the book were mine, such as this kitchen scene (below). We begged and borrowed all the other house settings. 

In pages like these and below I can see both my apprenticeship on show, but also something of the direction I was to take – and a bit of my personality starting to come through.

Blockbusters

We did the book using oil paint, because that’s traditionally the paint everybody used. Back then I thought it was the only way I could get that translucency. It may look a bit dated now – and fashions change – but I’m still tremendously proud of it. 
The ‘Blocking’ section (below), for example, is really ‘me’ and very jolly and done with artists' water based paint acrylic paints. 

As is this tree print project (below) for the kids’ playroom, and yes I did use real pears and swedes.

Colour all the way
One innovative feature we added to this book was the use of colourways at the edge of every right hand page in the ‘Basic Finishes’ section. Here’s an example using Dragging. . . 

This helped us get over people’s common objections to a particular technique based on colour i.e. “I don’t like that because it’s in yellow”. By showing a finish in other colours we could overcome those barriers. 

My back pages
Researching and writing The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques and its success meant a sequel was needed (which I’ll post about soon). It also spurred me on to develop my own paints as I became more and more absorbed by what paint is and how it works. 

So looking back over a quarter of a century of apprenticeship, application and experimentation (when many of my stockists hadn’t even been born!) you can see that Annie Sloan and Chalk Paint® come with a history, a heritage.

Chalk Paint® can applied to so many techniques – its versatility is the name of the game – and it’s as versatile as my approach to painting. With Chalk Paint® you'll find my whole history of mixing and colour mixing . . . in a pot. 

Yours, Annie