Floral Furniture Headdresses!

Let me share with you the second project from my unique Painter in Residence, Hanayuishi Takaya, another set of stunning headdresses that, in my opinion, are truly works of art.

What I love about Mr. Takaya’s work is that it is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The response from his previous work, ‘Man with Koi’ was fascinating. When I started the Painters in Residence programme my aim was to share inspiring images which start a discussion, and all use my paints and products, of course. With Mr. Takaya’s work, it may not be something that is easily recreated at home, but it definitely makes me smile; his whimsical artistry and joyous creations fill me with a new sense of wonder.

For these pieces Mr Takaya has cleverly used doll’s house table's and chairs - a cheeky response to the fact that Chalk Paint® is predominantly used on furniture. For the table and chairs, Hanayuishi chose many of the brighter colours in my Colour Palette, such as Emperor’s Silk, Antibes Green and Provence, building the layers of paint before sanding back to create a distressed, rustic finish. The boldness of colour contrasts beautifully with the arrangement of flowers chosen, such as hydrangeas and pink scabious.
Mr Takaya is always conscious of the models he uses for his work, and with this he chose two children which really marries perfectly the theme of the whole piece.

What do you think of this latest work? I would again be intrigued to hear your thoughts.

It may not be to everyone’s taste, but then again what a boring old world it would be if it was?

Yours, Annie

The Art of Colour Mixing

It’s been a busy time here at Annie Sloan HQ, we’ve been running a week long workshop for my stockists from around the world and I’ve had a great time teaching them new techniques that I’ve been working on, plus going over the tried and tested basics too. I love it when my stockists get together here in Oxford, as they are all so individual and have such different styles, so I love seeing all their enthusiasm and ideas fizzing off each other and off me! Plus, there is nothing like catching up with old friends too!

With all these new ideas and techniques brewing away, I always like to make sure that one of the fundamental things I teach my stockists and one that is truly at the heart of my business never changes. Since I began training my stockists I have always focused on colour mixing with Chalk Paint®. I want all of my stockists around the world to be confident colour experts and understand basic colour theory. I want them to be the first stop for their customers when they decide on what colour or combination is right for them, what colours work together, what makes colours warmer or cooler, what specific tones work, how to darken colours, how to create new shades, you get the picture!

You may not know that I come from an art school background, which is where my love of colour theory really blossomed. I loved learning about where specific colours came from and how they were used throughout history, how they worked or clashed together and how to really use them in the best possible way. As a poor student, I had to make sure that I made the colours of paint that I bought really stretch and last me a long time, so out necessity, I became infatuated with mixing.

Most of us have done some basic colour mixing when we were children, usually with those bold, bright primary colours of red, yellow and blue, also known as cadmium red, cadmium yellow and ultramarine. From these three colours , you can, in theory, mix any colour you can think of. However, if you’ve ever done some colour mixing you might know it’s not as easy as that! Images of a sludgy brown when I wanted something like a gorgeous earthy yellow or a deep, rich purple spring to mind.

So when I was creating my colours, I wanted a tool that became a springboard for you to launch into an exciting world of colours that you might not have even thought you could create yourself. I wanted to make sure that my colour palette was accessible and easy to understand and that it should be a tool in your arsenal, just as important as your favourite paint brush.

I say colour wheel, but it’s actually more of a triangle. This is because it is a simplified version of the classic colour wheel, with the thee points being shades that you cannot create by mixing, those primary colours, which in my world are called Emperor’s Silk, English Yellow and Napoleonic Blue. From these three, the colours expand to make oranges, greens and purples, such as Arles, Florence and Emile. What makes my paint unique is that not only do I encourage you to mix my colours together, but I’ve made it as easy as I can, too. There is very little black pigment in my paint, so when you mix any of my colours together you are far less likely to end up with that sludgy, dull brown of the past.


Talking of black, if you wanted to darken a colour the best way is to not add black (i.e. Graphite) but to find it’s complementary colour. To do this simply find the colour on the opposite side of the wheel and add a little to your colour. So, if I wanted to darken Emperor’s Silk, I would add a little Olive or Florence to reach a beautiful, rich red. To bring depth and interest to a piece of furniture this technique looks great when you pair it with the same base colour you started with. For example, I would paint a chest of drawers Emperor's Silk and then use my darkened, mixed red to any detailing or even just the corners of the drawers, to really make the piece interesting.


If you have never tried mixing any of my Chalk Paint® colours together, the best tip I can give you is to study my colour palette and then start with a colour you feel comfortable with, even if that is just adding a little Old White to a colour to lighten it up. You never know, you could become a colour expert in your own right, mixing everything from minty greens, bright fuchsias and even chestnut browns (try Antibes Green and Burgundy). Adding a little Old White to your mixed colour really reveals it's undertones too.


And now, my new mixing sticks are perfect for sharing these gorgeous colours you’ve created with me, just snap a picture (or two or three!) and don’t forget to use either #anniesloan or better yet #MixitMonday, the dedicated day for colour mixing with Chalk Paint®. This week, Ive been doing just that with colours that people have mixed that inspire me, have a look at some recent colours I’ve been creating over on my Facebook and Instagram.

Maison et Objet Paris

Last week I was in Paris for Maison et Objet 2016.  It is *the* big international trade show for interior design, with exhibitors – and visitors – from all over the world.  It’s so exciting, I go once a year to see for myself all the new trends.  Some of the stands are just enormous – I worked out that one was easily twice the size of my house! Often it’s where I’ll find new things for my shop here in Oxford, but this year I had my own stand there, and had a wonderful time meeting with stockists and potential new stockists from across the globe – Hungary to Japan!   (Images below- left: Shiro and Kimie Ito, my distributors in Japan, with Monika Gawinecka - my distributor in Poland. Middle: the Chalk Paint colour wheel. Right: My Spanish distributor, Maria, doing a short demo on the stand.)

I made time to take in what else was going on – I’m so frustrated but, because it is strictly trade only, I’m not allowed to share any of the pictures I took of the other stands with you.  However, I just had to sketch out some of the amazing ways in which people are using colour.  I was incredibly inspired, and – I hope! – you will be, too.

For the past few years, the big story has been white with grey.  I love this pared down look, but somehow it just doesn’t excite me in the way that bold use of colour does, so I’m thrilled to say that this year colour is big and strong!  There were some really powerful statements: red walls, red furniture, strong splashes of bright green and yellows…yellow everywhere!  And, importantly, this wasn’t just in reference to one particular style (e.g. mid-century Modern) but across the range.  Palatial grandeur, warehouse, bohemian (of course!) all infused with the colours I know so well from the Chalk Paint® palette (Emperor’s Silk, Burgundy, Antibes Green, Greek Blue, English Yellow to name but a few).  Barcelona Orange and English Yellow worked particularly well in warehouse settings, especially when paired with Paris Grey, French Linen, Versailles…

I’ve been struggling to come up with a way of describing the colours used, and can only come up with ‘strong florals’ – these aren’t pastels, but instead the strong red of tulips, vivid yellow like daffodils, marigold orange and beautiful cornflower blues.  And in combinations which were striking and somehow exotic.  Here’s a sketch based on a stand I saw which put together Graphite with Emperor's Silk, Antibes Green, Barcelona Orange and English Yellow.

  

Despite this and although colours were generally more dramatic, they were also used to create some more gentle looks.  The ubiquity of white and grey has been refreshed by using colour to replace white - it is now grey with orange, or blues, or yellow.  I saw a fabulous room set made up of soft greys – so relaxing – but with one vibrant orange chair – I love it!! For this look I've used Paris Grey and Barcelona Orange from the Chalk Paint® palette. (See image above.) 

I love seeing pictures of your bold colour statement pieces, keep sharing them with me using #AnnieSloan on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Use @anniesloanhome to tag me too!

Yours, Annie

The 12 Crafts of Christmas - No.9: The Gift Wrap

For the ninth of my 12 Crafts of Christmas, I'm providing you with inspiration for your gift wrapping. This is such a quick and easy way to personalise a present, and it's something the whole family can do. Simply choose your favourite stencil from my Stencil Collection, and one or two colours from the Chalk Paint® palette. Holly who works with me at Annie Sloan HQ created one design using Old White and my Tallulah Stencil on brown Kraft paper, and another with Emperor's Silk and my Bell Flowers stencil.

For that extra special touch dye some cotton tape with Chalk Paint® and add a pattern using a complementary colour. I love using my Circles, Sand Dollar and Valeska Stencils to create borders!

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