Color Therapy. What do colors mean?

We live a very colorful life in the physical sense and in our emotional sense. Color plays an integral part in our day to day....Black is slimming but also the color of which all presidential vehicles are painted advocating authority and power. We are soothed by sea foam greens and wish to cleanse ourselves when surrounded by whites, blues, and soft blue greens; seeing these colors, our bodies produce calming chemicals within.

Black

Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men which I disagree heavily! When I see women like, Donna Karan wearing her highly stylized black ensemble, I do NOT envision her pulling out a freshly baked apple pie and serving it to her hubby seated in a lazy boy. Just saying. Black is a popular color representing Halloween. With Dracula, witches, and omens appearing in black clothing and black hair, this suggests negative powers of authority and power.

White

White is pure, clean, bright, positive, angelic, celestial, ambiguous, and common. Brides wear white symbolizing innocence and purity. Reflecting light, white is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility. Throughout history, white was one of the most important colors to wear. Wearing white always had a social status definition whether it is implied or demanded. Even today, wearing true white...and presenting it as crisp and cared for white, this suggests pride and wealth.


Red

The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. It has been stated that red is a power color. Many experts have suggested wearing red to meetings for negotiations and sales, however since it is an extreme color, red clothing might offend people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars depict speed and affluence and are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Interior designers utilize red furniture in living rooms and dining rooms. In the living room where you would engage in conversation, a red chair will get you noticed. In a dining room, red is known to stimulate your appetite.

Pink

Pink is innocence and ironically, romance. Pink is pure passion. Caucasian babies are referred to as pink. Clearly girls' rooms are painted pink accentuating pure and feminine innocence. Many sports teams will paint the guest lockers bright pink to suck the team players' energy. Pink is soft, warm, and fuzzy. Pink paired with green can be flash back preppy and also organically calming (depending on the tone).

Blue

Often used in bedrooms, blue is a calming color. Truly one of the most favored colors by humans across the world. Blue is the color of the ocean and our sky representing earth like no other color. Water is usually depicted in blue hence, water being calming, so is blue. I often wonder if the ocean was orange, then would orange be the calming color? Blue can also be cold and depressing when mixed with a bit of gray. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty, trustworthiness, and it has been proven that people working in sales have a higher closing rate while wearing blue. People are more productive in blue rooms. Statistically, weightlifters are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.


Green

Green, another color of our Earth. Green represents all things organic and is presently the most popular decorating color. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth and high intellect. Green is the color of Ireland hence representing the luck of the Irish and St. Patrick's day. However, on the eve of a fashion show, seamstresses often refuse to use green thread fearing it will bring bad luck.

Yellow

Yellow is the color of pineapples hence the color of hospitality. The color of the sun, which sustains life, yellow is considered cheery and a great attention getter. Yellow enhances concentration, hence we use it for legal pads.
While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms. Too much yellow can create anxiety. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused.

Purple

Purple is the color of royalty con notating wealth and opulence. It is feminine and romantic. Men should avoid both purple and pink as wardrobe choices to an interview. Both colors symbolize femininity. A male wearing pink or purple to an interview may seem to be undecided and unsure of himself. Purple may connect the mind with things artificial correlating negative images.

Brown

Another Earth color, brown. Perhaps it is because of UPS, but brown denotes a solid and reliable makeup. Again speaking organic, brown conjures images of wood, leather (or pelts), dirt; all raw and organic materials for survival. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.

Gray

This fabulous color is often used for home furnishing accents or larger objects only to be accessorized by vibrant colors. Men and women wear gray suits when interviewing candidates suggesting they are neutral in their decision making processes. Gray can mean sorrow, maturity, and balance. When utilizing gray in a landscape painting, mist, fog, waterfalls, etc...these grays can conjure ideas of rest, tranquility, escape, avoidance, and retreat. Gray can be a very mystical color embodying the desire to meditate.

Orange

A vibrant color made by combining red and yellow. Orange suggests vitality and possibly aggression. It is not a hostile color but more so one of invigorating life!
Like red, orange is thought to stimulate your appetite. Many people naturally correlate an orange to the color orange connotating succulence and mouth watering goodness. Health, warmth, and vitality sum up this color.

Color impacts every moment of our lives in so many ways and on so many levels. The next blog will discuss colors that heal-How and Why.

In the meantime...color yourself happy....allow yourself to indulge in color to make your world a brighter place.

Quality Tools and Materials equates professional finishes!

Successful Painting Projects begin with Quality tools and materials!
Don’t purchase cheap paint!:

Remember: You get what you pay for. This adage applies to everything including paint. Select high quality paint with more resin, premium pigments, and LESS water. Don’t cheap out on paint otherwise, you will find yourself replicating the same paint job within a year. The inexpensive paints do not contain enough resins or bonding agents to enable a long lasting finish. Another interesting fact, when trying to color match with inexpensive paints, the color will dry darker than that of higher quality paints. Why? The chemical compounds have more space inbetween each other, there are less bonding agents, and the pigment is not sufficiently ground as finely as in higher quality paints.

Better quality coatings will give more square footage per gallon due to the “clear” vehicle added to the higher end paint. Higher quality paints bond better to the substrates being painted, are easier to clean, and will last much longer than inexpensive paints.

What type of rollers and brushes do I need?
When determining which roller cover (nap) to purchase, you must understand the walls’ texture. Most naps are made from natural or synthetic fibers. Naps are available in various lengths and thickness; so use the one recommended for the surface you’re painting. The longer the nap, the more paint it will hold. Use the following as a general guideline.
• 1/4-inch nap for smooth or fine surfaces, such as new walls, ceilings, and wood
• 3/8-inch nap for smooth to light-textured walls
• 1/2-inch nap for most walls and medium rough surfaces, such as textured plaster, and concrete
• 3/4-inch nap for rough surfaces, such as textured walls and ceilings, heavily textured plaster, and concrete
• 3/8- or 1/2-inch nap is a good general-purpose roller cover.
In general, for those of you with little painting experience utilize a 9” roller frame and a 9” nap in the size specific to your walls being painted. To eliminate mess, I suggest you pour your gallons of paint into a 5 gallon bucket and use a grid attached to the bucket rather than using a tray.

For selecting brushes, it is important that you understand the distinctions between the various materials used to create the brush. The material generally comes in two forms: natural bristle and synthetic filament.
Usually you use a synthetic brush for latex paints and a natural bristle brush for oil (alkyd). You may use a synthetic brush for oil if you want, but you should not use a natural bristle brush with latex. Natural bristles, when used in water can damage and swell the bristles.
Synthetic brushes usually polyester, nylon, or a blend of both. The good quality brushes will retain the right balance of stiffness and flexibility.
Natural bristles tend to be made from hog or ox bristle.
Brush Selections:
Inexpensive paint brushes will shed bristles into your freshly painted surface, they will NOT hold a significant amount of paint, and do not have the firmness/softness balance to execute a professional finish. Below are the two top paint brush manufacturers, I suggest you make your selections from either of these companies.
Purdy Brushes
Purdy produces only the highest quality paint brushes and have been the choice of professionals for over 75 years. Each Purdy brush is an individually built instrument designed, formulated, and handcrafted for maximum painting performance. Their attention to detail in the manufacturing processes makes Purdy brushes the industry standard among paint tool manufacturers.

Wooster Brushes
The Wooster Brush Company is known as one of the most innovative manufacturers of paint equipment. During 155+ years in business, Wooster has established many milestones in the industry:
• Invention of popular paintbrush styles such as the angle sash and the Shasta
• Development of the "Foss-set" process to cement bristle into paintbrushes
• First to use nylon filaments to create brushes that performed in latex paints
• Creation of the Exploded-Tip® process to make soft flags on filament ends
• First to introduce synthetic fabrics for roller covers, now an industry standard

When deciding of what size for what project, follow these simple rules:
1—2 Inch is a good choice for small surfaces such as touch-up, trim, moldings and window sashes.
2—3 Inch work great for general cutting in of walls as well as exterior trim.
4—6 Inch brushes are for large areas such as back brushing behind an airless sprayer or applying stain to a deck floor.

Color Consulting making a small space seem larger.

I was asked by a friend to assess her newly acquired leased office space. It was a great find having 5 inch crown molding, three offices, a conference room, storage/breakfast room, and a fabulous reception area capped in granite. We were a little claustrophobic due to the color combination the former tenants had selected. They chose burgundy crown and pea brown walls. YUCK! They may have utilized left over paint from a prior job; they were in construction. But to service the environment of which you work daily, try not to cheap out 100%

We played with a color combination coming from the granite. The granite highlighted natural earth tones. In this case, salmon, grays, persimmon, black, and cream.

We primed the molding and walls. The walls were painted in a soft creamy peach accentuated with a satin cream on the molding. The walls behind the reception demands a bit of drama, therefore, the area was given a texture with a skip-pool trowel finish, color washed with peaches, butterscotch, and cream, then glazed with an umber/sienna glaze. The area underneath the reception area had raised 1970s panels. We primed and painted the panels in a complimenting color to the color wash behind the reception area. I took a plum bob and chalk lined diamonds painting them alternating colors, glazed the diamonds with the same glaze utilized on the reception fauxed wall and added architectural accents in the middle of the cross hairs.

Conference room: I skip-pool troweled the conference room and added colors of purple, burgundy, plum, green, blue, and golds. After blending all of the colors, glazed the wall with an umber glaze. The remaining walls in the conference area were painted a mushroom color.

The little offices were painted a cream paint with one accent wall. One office had a soft airy blue and the other a sage green. These are tiny offices that will accommodate one person and their computer, desk, and an opposing chair.

My friend's office: I pool troweled the walls, sanded, primed, and painted two coats of a soft airy blue/gray. Once the paint cured, I added a metallic dry brush application followed by an umber glaze. The room shimmered but was subdued due to the umber glaze. Behind her desk, I installed a checkerboard pattern utilizing 1x1 square luan tiles painted in opposing sheens of blue/gray and silver all glazed.

The storage/breakfast area was given a couple of coats of cheery sherbet orange. The cabinets are white which offers a clean and upbeat area for retrieving copies, collations, coffee, etc....

Just a bit of color, innovation, and elbow-grease and you can transform a mundane environment into one of which you are eager to enter daily. I will post pictures this week.

Happy painting!

Skip Pool Trowel

Recently, I have added over 500 pounds of plaster to my walls. The task is arduous but the end result is fabulous and well worth the painful and daunting efforts made throughout the process.

I wanted to approach my home with a somewhat soft, warm, and inviting overall decor. I am eclectic and enjoy mixing and matching furniture, accessories, and eras. For the whole concept to shape, it is imperative that we provide a cohesive base to work from. In this respect, I am alluding to the core walls throughout the house.

So...in came the skip pool trowel concept. Skip-pool troweling is a method used to establish deep nooks and crannies adjacent to soft pool troweled sweeps in the plaster. The over all look will lend itself to the old world classic look. Most people contemplate Tuscany when regarding skip-pool troweling. Since, in my home, we have many religious icons...i.e. a beautiful hand painted depiction of the San Jose Y San Miguel D Aguayo from Ben Carter, a variety of Santos picked up on visits to Mexico, and a plethora of different crosses...I leaned towards replicating a mission feel.

Here is the process:
Plaster (mud found in a hardware store...dry wall mud will suffice)
Pool Trowel (found in a hardware store like Lowe's or Home Depot. Smooth oval)
A Variety of different sized flat trowels which will offer the skip effect.
Plastic
Tape
Masking paper
Masker
Roslin Paper (the red rolls found in hardware stores)
Scaffolding (depending on the height of the walls)
Sand Paper
Masks
Shop Vac
Caulk
Primer
Base coat paint
Glaze...Use an oil based glaze....not..do NOT..use a water base...not the effect wanted.
Linseed oil
Japan Dryer
Oil base pigment
Turpentine


Begin from the top of the wall and work your way across and then down. If you don't like the pattern of which you are creating, then smooth it over and do it again. Working with plaster, you cannot mess up...even if it has dried...you can sand it and begin again.

The application is individualistic. I utilize the pool trowel loaded with mud and apply to the wall. Then taking a larger trowel, filled with mud and underneath the pool troweled mud, I apply a staccato of mud then quickly and lightly smooth it over. Play with this method and perhaps invent your own...Only you can define the rhythm that you will be able to produce and sustain throughout the entire area to be textured...day in and day out.

Next phase, once all of the mud is applied to the walls, you will sand lightly eliminating rough peaks on the staccato mudded surface. Clean seams in corners and where ceiling meets walls. Smooth roughed troweled areas. Envision what each raise will look like once glaze is applied. The glaze will accentuate any imperfection, nook and cranny, and lip established while having troweled on the mud. If you don't like what you see, now is the time to get rid of it by sanding it away.
*Make certain you are wearing a mask and all areas are viscuined. I usually use a heavy duty masking tape and a heavier gauged plastic. The dust will sift into every crevasse, every page on a book, every fibrous thread on your upholstery....EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!

Next, brush off all of the dust, vacuum, and eliminate. The dust is your enemy and is horribly toxic to have sifting into your lungs. This extracting of dust is a constant....but essential for maintaining a healthy working environment and sustaining a livable space for those residing in the home or working in the commercial environment.

Next, primer. Brush and Roll primer on every square inch of your textured surfaces. Please babysit your efforts...and look carefully for drips. Drips will ruin your hours and hours of laborious lathering of mud......Drips are easy to establish when dealing with heavily textured walls. You have a tendency to overload your brush and roller....since it is imperative to get into each nook and cranny....if not careful, you will have a wall filled with drips. UGLY and AWFUL! Once you have brushed and rolled....let it set for a couple of minutes and go back to double check for the inevitable drips.

Base painting is next. It is key to pick out a light color for your troweled walls. The glaze will darken the overall effect. In this example: we selected a very light cream base color. Carefully replicate the priming process utilizing your base color....again babysit the drips.

After two coats of base coat have been applied and have cured, you are ready to glaze! Glazing is fun and fast....and the wow factor while applying pushes you on to completion.

For the glaze:
Mix an oil base pigment...I chose burnt umber, burnt sienna, and a chocolate brown.
Mix in linseed oil
Japan Dryer
Turpentine.

There is no exact formula for making a glaze. Play around with the consistency and take notes. You will want a glaze that is 1/2 oil and 1/2 turp with some Japan Dryer to expedite the drying time....just play around and see what you like. You can always apply samples onto your wall...then immediately erase with clear turpentine.

Voila! You have just given birth to a lovely Tuscan village or a mission style environment. The effect is warm, inviting, and awe inspiring.

Note: For those young entrepreneurs who would like to Faux finish for a living: this application should never be sold for less than $18.00/sqft no matter the size of the walls. This is a very labor intensive method and only skilled finishers can execute this to perfection.

Enjoy!

Faux Burl Wood Graining

I am working on updating an older dining room set. The china hutch, table, and chairs are inexpensively made. In order for me to refurbish them, I must paint them to give them new life.

I have raised panels of which I will faux burl. In these panels, I will utilize oil based paints and oil glazes.

For the remaining furniture, I will utilize a combination of latex paints and oils.

Getting Started:
Chip brushes
Fan Brush
Short bristled artist brush
Blue tape
Cheese cloth, lint-free rag, or paper toweling

Artist Oils:
Burnt Umber
Raw Umber
Burnt Sienna
Black

Base Coat:
Satin latex base paint. I chose a butterscotch which correlates with my home's other neighboring furniture and tones.

Oil Based Glaze
1 part linseed oil
1 part paint thinner and Japan drier (optional to speed drying)

Sealant:
Low luster or Satin finish varnish.

Let’s begin:
First degloss with liquid sander, the entire surface area to be painted. Secondly, paint the entire surface with our latex paint (two coats). Allow to cure for two days.

Once cured, we are ready to work the raised areas and develop our burl finish. Using a tray or empty can, pour in glazing liquid. Using a lint free rag or paper toweling, apply the surface with the glazing liquid. Dip your chip brush onto your palette into the pigments of burnt umber, raw umber, burnt sienna, and a fraction of black. Pour a couple of drops of Japan Drier into the glazing liquid. With your coated chip brush, dip a bit of glazing liquid and apply in a cross hatching motion onto the surface being painted. Add a bit of dark for darker areas.

Taking cheese cloth, paper toweling, or lint free rag, scrunch it up into a ball and dab it all over the cross-hatched area. While you are dabbing, twist and turn creating a swirl pattern all over the surface. You may stipple for softer areas. Using a clean chip brush, lightly and softly blend the rough twirl lines.

Next, dip your fan brush into the black and burnt sienna and then into the glazing liquid. Take off excess pigment by brushing onto a clean paper toweling. Coat both back and front of fan brush. From corner to middle drag with a squiggly motion onto the softened “burl” surface. You may use this same method for defining some of the burl swirls for greater impact.

Again, soften desired areas with chip brush.

Next, take small artist brush and dip into black and burnt sienna. Paint small dots representing knots. Paint in darker areas and blend. For highlighting, tap small areas by pressing with a soft cloth or using your thumb (glove coated) onto the surface. Allow to dry overnight.

In some cases, you may feel that the surface needs to be darker. If this is the case, repeat the steps from the beginning for applying the initial coating of glazing liquid and pigment, criss-cross hatching and then dabbing off excess exposing the burl marks underneath. Go back into your surface with a chip brush creating softening motions and staccato marks while dragging downwards.

Allow to cure overnight or as long as needed. Varnish to seal and protect. Voila!!!

Marbeling Prefabricated Fireplace Mantels and Surrounds

When working with today’s generic fireplace mantels and surrounds, many of us long for the decades past architectural elements. With production costs what they are and well….let’s just say, nothing is made in the same fashion as they fabricated in the past. Solid wood is obsolete. In fact, it is as though we live in “faux” houses with hefty price tags…everything is wood framed and plywood coated. Stuffed with insulation and boarded with gypsum, skim coated with mud, sprayed with knock-down, then mist primed and two coat sprayed….fascinating!

So, that is where we come in. The faux finishers or decorative painters of the world unite! We are able to take something hum drum, fabricated out of inexpensive material and transform it into a fabulous look! Let us focus on the generic fireplace. In order for this finish to work, we must work with an architectural base that offers some pleasing aesthetic lines. Most of today’s fireplace mantels or surrounds are fabricated out of resins or a lite concrete substrate combination. Many of these elements are offered with superb design.


This surround and mantel are from the company Lite Stone Concrete located in El Cajon, California. These elements are pre-cast and then shipped to your destination.

Once these elements are installed, many times, the designer needs to tweak the color or tone of the piece. I am going to discuss the simple basics in transforming a prefabricated mantel and or surround into a marbled look.

First, apply base coat and allow to cure for 24 hours with water base (latex) or 72 for oil base (alkyd). Select a base paint which is correct for your marble objective, i.e., cream for yellow sienna marble, white for carrara marble, and if going with a port’oro marble….then base in black.

From this point on, we will utilize only oil paints to render our marbling. It is only in this medium that we are able to achieve the true marbling effect. Pour approximately 2 to 3 Tbsp of pigment into a tray or cup, add japan drier. Add a bit of white, yellow ochre, and raw sienna onto your palette for most marbles except white marbles. (In creating carrara marble, statuario, arabescato vagli, or any other white based and gray veined marble….the same practices apply only different colors will be utilized. In some of the white and black marbles, some yellow veining does occur. Examine your sample and select pigments accordingly.)

Using a chip brush (an inexpensive brush located at any hardware and paint store) pick up some of each color and lightly mix onto your palette. Now, dip your chip brush into the oil glaze and pick up some of the mixed color. With a criss cross pattern, sporadically apply to the fireplace surround and mantel working in small areas at a time. Vary your depth of application. In some areas, apply darker shades and in others, apply lighter shades.

Next step is to soften your area with either the same brush or another unused chip. Gently sweep and blend the paint on the fireplace surround and mantel area until you have achieved the look you want.

Immediately following, take another chip brush and dip into the oil glaze then into the white and work into the lighter areas on the fireplace mantel and surround. Take your more saturated brush and work into the newly applied white area creating billowy cloud like effects. In this effort, you are to define a vein directional pattern.

Next, using an 3/8 inch round white bristle artist brush, dip into the glazing medium and then into the white, yellow ochre, and raw sienna mixture. Loosely paint in veins outlining the darker and lighter based areas. Along the darker areas, define with thicker and deeper or darker veins. The best way to achieve a light hand is to hold your brush down low on the handle caressing the handle with finger tips and a light grasp. While moving down in the same directional vein pattern that you have selected, you will create a wiggly effect and a soft wave effect. *Using oil, you really never make a mistake. If you do not like your veins, then erase them with a soft brush over.

Next, using a 19/64 or smaller round brush, repeat the paint application, but this time, run your veins off the main veins. You may run at opposing angles in various directions. Step back to regard your efforts.

Next, soften your veins with the more saturated chip brush using a sweep and stipple method. In areas of which you would like to establish more depth, use the chip brush and dip into the darker pigment. Take the coated brush and stipple into the surface area desiring the darker pigment. Again, softly brush the area blending into the surrounding pigment.

Again, using a smaller sized round brush, apply darker and more irregular veins. You could add a bit of black mixed with the raw umber and glazing medium. Add as many veins as you wish. After each application of veins, always soften with the chip brush.

For the last vein application, I always like to place some white veins on top. At this stage, I paint in some white areas and then vein over them. *Remember: Vein, soften, paint and stipple, vein, soften, paint and stipple….as many times as you like until you achieve the desired look.

Lastly, take a clean chip brush and dip into the white pigment and glazing medium. With this brush loaded, spatter paint onto your surface. Follow with a soft blending on the fireplace surround and mantel. Next, replicate the same method only this time using the darker pigment for spattering. Again soften and allow to dry completely.

Once completely cured, varnish your entire mantel and surround selecting what sheen best compliments the room’s décor. Personally, I enjoy a satin sheen. This offers a soft glow with low light.

And VOILA! You have now mastered the art of transforming a prefabricated façade into looking like a extremely expensive hand carved marble mantel and surround.

Stenciling Traditional method and non-traditional

The history of stenciling is long for obvious reasons. Stenciling was an inexpensive and efficient form of replicating an image and decorating a wall, furniture, floors, or accessories. In the beginning, stencils were made out of organic materials, i.e., leaves, leather, treated linen. Today, most stencils are fabricated out of heavy gauged plastic or mylars (if you will).

To stencil:
Supply checklist stenciling supplies

Before you begin stenciling, be sure your supplies include the following:

* marking pencil
* low-tack masking tape or stencil adhesive
* level
* ruler
* stencil brushes
* stencil paint
* a saucer, plate or palette
* paper towels (preferably lint free)

All of the above supplies can be found in your local hardware or craft store.

Stencil Brushes:
The most common stencil brushes are flat tipped and domed brushes. Flat tipped brushes contain bristles that are all one length. Domed brushes have bristles that are slightly tapered near the ends. If you are just beginning, you may wish to start with the flat tipped brush. If you are more experienced, then you will find that domed brushes can be used to produce a larger variety of shaded effects, adding more depth and appeal to your stenciled designs.

Begin stenciling in an inconspicuous corner of your room. Every stencil has guide marks for you to perfectly repeat the pattern intended. To position your stencil: you can either utilize a green or blue or light adhesive masking tape to secure the corners...or utilize spray adhesive. If you are using spray adhesive, allow the spray to dry until tacky then secure to surface.

To Begin Stenciling:
I usually use a paper plate or paint tray to hold a small amount of pigment. Use a water based paint for fast drying capability. If you like, you can always add Japan dryer to escalate the drying time.

With your brush, dip the bristles into your paint. In a circular motion, dab and roll the excess paint onto a paper towel removing most of the paint. Repeat this process until the brush seems "dry". The objective is to imprint the surface underneath the stencil with a consistent amount of pigment establishing clean edges. Continue to blot the brush onto the stencil building up the color layer by layer.

There are two methods of stenciling:
One is stippling..an upward and downward dabbing motion. This method produces the most consistent and cohesive method for coverage. The second method is swirling of which utilizing this method, you press the brush down onto the surface and produce small circular motion. Utilizing this method, you are able to effectively achieve soft shading.

Stenciling is NOT just for the stereotypical little sweet lady who wishes to add creative hand touches to "stuff" about the house. It isn't just for the country gal who has a love for gingham checked bows and wood cut-outs...Stenciling is for fun and creativity. Stenciling began as an innovative tool and is used today as just that...a great tool for making innovative design.

More innovative approaches to stenciling, with today's technology can certainly be achieved. We can create digital images of anything we see and capture. Print these images out and use the traditional methods of cutting then voila....some crazy stencils can be made. As you can push the limits with your stencil concepts, you can push the limits in methods of laying down pigment. Utilizing airbrush and spray paint can create some fantastic and dramatic effects.

I will post some wonderful examples of some amazing artists' work...these people push limits and have fun with a simple tool creating unique and fun concepts!

Enjoy

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