Joe Fenzl, director of the Pacific School of Decorative Arts, shows Kitty Bartholomew two techniques to give unfinished pine, a popular indigenous American wood, an aged patina.
Shoe polish and varnish technique
- First, apply several layers of varnish to raw wood. Tinted varnish can be used .
- Distress the wood, using a dry wall knife. Cut grooves in the wood and chip them out (figure A).
- Apply shoe polish in desired color (brown and black were mixed for the demonstration ) with an thin brush (figure B).
- Wipe off excess polish with a soft rag. There is no need to seal the wood when shoe polish is used.
Glue and paint technique
Note: If desired, distress raw wood (only slightly, since the finishing technique adds its own distressed look).
- Apply a thin layer of hide glue with a brush and let dry.
- Apply a coat of flat latex paint over the glue.
- As the paint dries, it softens the glue, crackling the paint. Pull up paint , using hands or a rag (figure C). Pull up a little or a lot of paint, depending on desired look.
- Tint paint thinner in a dark brown color and splatter onto the wood with a paint brush (figure D). Splatter by tapping the handle of the paint brush against the handle of another brush.
- Using Japan paint (which is thicker than regular paint) in raw umber, dry brush the edges to highlight them (figure E). Remove as much paint from the brush as possible before applying.
- Seal with a low-sheen varnish.
Guests Joe Fenzl
Decorative Artist, Instructor, Decorative Arts of Los Angeles
15047 Hamlin Street
Van Nuys, CA 91411
Email:
dala2000@mindspring.com
Also in this Episode
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
