Annie Sloan • Paint & Colour: March 2015

26 March 2015

Agnieszka Krawczyk's Boho Cupboard

I love this second project from Painter in Residence Agnieszka Krawczyk. Agnieszka has used Florence and Graphite – two very strong, rich colours from the Chalk Paint® palette. They work beautifully with the golden wood of the cupboard.

Agnieszka started the transformation by applying two coats of Florence (one of her favourite colours) to the outside of the cupboard. Distressing each layer using a metal scraper, sandpaper and a putty knife, she revealed areas of the original golden wood beneath. She painted the shelves and interior of the cupboard in Graphite (a soft black that can be darkened with my Dark Soft Wax) and then, once dry, gently sanded the paint back in certain areas.

To finish the cupboard, Agnieszka applied Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax all over and, while the wax was still soft, began working Dark Wax into the surface to highlight texture, darken the colours, and adds richness and depth. Agnieszka left the wax to dry without buffing to create a beautiful matt finish.

I love how Agnieszka has used my Work Book to experiment with her colour combinations and plan this project. How have you used yours?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pictures from Agnieszka's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her website: www.beforeandafterblog.pl

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

20 March 2015

Introducing Painter in Residence Karen Donnelly

“I’m an artist who loves to paint. My mother and my grandmother were both artists so I grew up with a lot of creative encouragement. I had the support of my family to go to Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA and received a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Art).

I believe art-wise you have to work on projects that make you happy and not be afraid to fail. Layout, colour and design are very important for a successful painting as far as I’m concerned, but I do love to dive in and not contemplate the plan too much. I don’t strive for perfection.

And Annie's paint?

I feel Annie is a wise person and has a fun sense of humor. I feel I connect with her as a person (she has a positive, creative vibe) and I appreciate her sharing and inspiring others. I also respect her as a talented artist: she has a lot of knowledge especially in use of many different mediums, color mixing and color theory. Annie knows that there are many ways to create and design and helps her students find their ‘own’ design style or look.

My sister Patty [Seaman] and I were working together doing fine plaster wall finishes and furniture painting. We tried Chalk Paint® and loved it! Patty became a Stockist (one of the original Annie Sloan Stockists at Classic Wall Finishes located in Central New Jersey!) and I helped Patty with her business, doing instructing and commissions (At Patty's new shop, Paint Passion that stocks Annie Sloan products and runs wonderful workshops. Located in Red Bank, N.J)

What you’ll see from me

I love creating original oil and water colour paintings, so using Chalk Paint® I am going to incorporate my landscapes, seascapes and florals into pieces of furniture. I feel that the hardest part is going to be finding a piece that lends itself to this type of painting.”

Here's a glimpse of projects to come from Karen...

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pictures from Karen's residency and follow her on Facebook.

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

13 March 2015

Abigail & Ryan Bell's Succulent Chaise-Longe

For their first project as Painters in Residence, Abigail and Ryan Bell (of Abigail*Ryan) used my paint, Chalk Paint®, to cover an old Victorian chaise-longe in hand painted succulents. And doesn't it look amazing?

Abigail and Ryan painted the leather upholstery of the chaise-longe in Pure, to create a clean fresh canvas to work on. Abigail then began sketching simple succulent forms on to the surface with a pencil. As soon as she was happy with the shapes and composition, Abigail used a small artists' brush to paint the leaves – using certain colours directly from the pot, such as Henrietta and Emile, and mixing bespoke shades of green from Pure, Antibes, Florence and Provence. Abigail left the paint to dry completely and then used a black fine-liner pen to work detail into the paintwork.

The creative couple finished the transformation by painting the woodwork of the chaise-longe in Florence and the trim of the upholstery in Aubusson Blue. A couple of coats of my Soft Clear Wax were applied to the woodwork and the following day the surface was buffed with a clean cloth – this gives a soft sheen. They decided to leave the fabric un-waxed as the piece is purely decorative and will not be used as a chair.

What do you think? Have you ever been inspired to hand paint a pattern on to your furniture?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pictures from Abigail and Ryan's residency and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and her website: www.abigailryan.com

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

12 March 2015

Introducing Painters in Residence Abigail and Ryan Bell

“We are a husband and wife design duo based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and working together as Abigail*Ryan. We create bold hand-illustrated florals on our homeware using (we think) an uncommon colour palette. We have two pups, Angus (grumpy) & Hamish (happy-go-lucky) and three chickens, Helga, Brigitte and Henrietta.

And Annie's paint?

Colour really drives our approach to painting. We generally like flat modern finishes, and bold saturated hues. I'm [Abigail] an illustrator, so generally create my detail work with pen and ink, but I like the qualities that paint can bring to that and the possibilities that unfold when the two combine.

Annie is an incredibly warm and charming person, and we loved spending some time with her in Belfast. She has a great sense of fun, and an infectious smile and endless enthusiasm. A genuinely lovely person... and her professional achievements are really inspiring. It’s fantastic to see how a business that has been running for such a long time found its stride and now has over 1,200 stockists. A wonderful success story for any entrepreneur to aspire to!

What you’ll see from us

To kick off we hand painted a beautiful Victorian chaise, and we are also using the paint to create a Japanese Shibori-inspired tie-die project to overhaul a Parker Knoll chair frame. We’re also really inspired to create beautiful flat modern finishes with Annie's Flat Brushes, so we have been experimenting with those. They’re great tools!”

Here's a peek of projects to come:

Yours, Annie

6 March 2015

Agnieszka Krawczyk's decollage chest of drawers

This stunning chest of drawers is the first project from my new Painter in Residence, Agnieszka Krawczyk. Agnieszka has a great style and her projects are so interesting partly because she uses a technique that involves creating texture and layers through the use of woodworking tools, such as chisels and scrapers. She applies layers of paint thickly and then scrapes, chips and sands away to create interesting texture and layers. This technique reminds me of décollage, a technique that artists such as Robert Rauschenburg and Yves Klein used in the 60s – layering posters and ripping in to them to show previous layers. But at the same time there's an antique, vintage look – the piece looks naturally aged and distressed.

Agnieszka used a palette of Provence, Pure, Old White, Napoleonic Blue, Antoinette, Louis Blue and Antibes Green on the outside of the chest, to create layers of colour and texture. Some of these colours were used as they come out of the tin, others were mixed to create softer and lighter shades. As soon as the paint was dry she used a scraper, sandpaper and putty knife to begin chipping in to the paint.

The inside of the drawers have been painted in Duck Egg Blue, and the edges have been painted with Napoleonic Blue to frame the shape. To finish the piece Agnieszka used Clear Wax – this seals the paint and makes it wipeable.

Have you ever used my paint to create a chippy, distressed texture? Agnieszka's work has really inspired me to pick up some different tools.