The Colourist Issue 4: A celebration of colour!

Hurrah! Today is the launch of the latest issue of The Colourist, Issue 4.

Each issue is very special to me, it represents a time and a place in my life and career and I love looking back at the earlier editions to remind me of the fascinating cities I've visited and the amazing artists I've found along the way. However, I do have to admit that I feel like Issue 4 is that little bit more special... (sorry I know one isn't supposed to have a favourite child) because this is the issue that represents a very special time in my life and career - the 30 year anniversary of Chalk Paint®!



I curate a colour palette for each issue, based on the mood and the feel of the time. The palette for Issue 4 which just so happens to be timed with the start of Spring in the UK, is composed of luscious Lem Lem, grounding Graphite and the origin of Chalk Paint, Old White. Despite the hero of this issue being Old White, you'll find that the 132 pages are jam-packed with colour.



Thirty years! That’s how long it’s been since I started my Chalk Paint® adventure. Back in 1990, the first colour I created was Old White, which is why I’ve chosen white as the theme for this celebratory issue of The Colourist. And, since 30 years is a pearl anniversary, we’re launching something rather appropriate: Pearlescent Glaze. You can turn to page 128 to see how Dominique Malacarne used this beautiful, iridescent colour to create a subtle inlaid bone effect that I know you’ll want to try for yourself.



As this is such a special issue, I’ll be talking a little more personally than I do normally: reflecting, gathering and planning for the future of Annie Sloan Interiors. I’m sharing some stories about how I started this company in my 40s, and talking to other creative women following their passions and starting their own businesses.



I’m thrilled to share more about ‘accidental icon’ Iris Apfel, the fashion, textiles and interior designer who’s famous for being ridiculously stylish, witty and idiosyncratic. And, by the way, she’s in her 90s! We also feature illustrator and designer, Edward Bawden; Roland Penrose and Lee Miller’s surrealist home, Farleys House; a tour of a beautiful Dutch barge; and the home of our past Painter in Residence, Ildiko Horvath.

As ever, you'll find six inspiring step-by-step projects in the back section of the magazine, including a project by Annie Sloan Interiors' very own senior designer, Joanna Lloyd, showing you how to use the free Toile du Jouy-inspired paper pull-out. The toile features scenes from my home city and the home of Chalk Paint® manufacturing, Oxford.



That’s just a taster of what’s in store. I hope you enjoy the issue – it’s been a pleasure putting it together for you. Tag me @AnnieSloanHome on social media with the hashtag #ColouristMag so I can see what you get up to.

Yours, 

Annie. 

#25Project: Raglan, Wales!

It gives me the greatest pleasure to present you with the latest 25 Project – this time from Wales! As it's 'back to school' for a lot of you this week, I thought it fitting to share this transformation of a gorgeous old school hall with you.

With a population just short of 2,000 and the nearest town of Abergavenny 15 miles away, this Old Church School Hall has always been a focal point for the village of Raglan. A little history first: built in 1857, this hall started as a local community school. In World War II, many of the families in Raglan opened up their homes to evacuee children and so the school had to accommodate an influx of new children.

Over the years, as the old school became a hub for the local community, it understandably started to show wear and tear. Together with some fantastic volunteers – young and old – my Stockist Lucy Hywel, who runs That's Lovely That in Abergavenny, gave the place a much-needed facelift.



Using mainly Old White and Duck Egg Blue, they really made a feature of the wood panelling on the walls. Touches of Aubusson Blue help bring everything together, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

I've been told that, since the completion of the project, two new clubs have been formed and are now using the hall for Yoga and Tai-chi. This, along with the other organisations and clubs that use the space already – that's martial arts, kids clubs, art groups, film nights, and girl scouts. Phew!

Well done to everyone who participated in this gorgeous transformation. May the Raglan Old Church School Hall continue to be used by the community for at least another 160 years!

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.

Agnieszka Krawczyk's Old Violet Side Table

I fell in love with Agnieszka's work after seeing it online – her technique and recognisable style are inspiring. I admire the way she experiments with my paint, Chalk Paint®, and explores the art of decorative painting. 

For her third Painters in Residence project Agnieszka applied Chalk Paint® decorative paint in a whole range of colours – Old Violet, Louis Blue, Henrietta, Emile, Paloma, Duck Egg Blue, French Linen, Original and Old White. She applied the paint thickly to create texture. Along the way she used scrapers, sand paper, a putty knife and woodworking tools to scrape, sand and chip away at the layers of paint – creating beautiful character and revealing areas of colour. This technique results in a piece that looks like naturally worn paint work – aged and distressed over time. 

Agnieszka finished the piece in my Soft Clear Wax – this protects the surface and adds a little depth to the colour.

Have you been inspired by Agnieszka's work to create your own heavily distressed piece?

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.

Karen Donnelly's Painterly Cabinet

For Karen's first project as a Painter in Residence, she used my paint, Chalk Paint®, to paint a sophisticated, tonal landscape on to the cupboard doors of a small cabinet.

Karen started by painting the whole piece in Old Ochre, a faded darkened cream colour, to give her canvas a neutral base, and she chose a muted, limited palette of Old White, Coco and Graphite to create her tonal landscape. For those of you wondering what I mean by painting a tonal landscape, I will explain... The way that we can see one object from the one next to it or behind it is largely due to tonal differences between them. A dark object will stand out clearly against a light one. There can also be colour differences, but tone is one of the most important factors. The easiest way to see tone, and to filter out unwanted details is to squint while you are looking at the object – this cuts out colours and helps you to see black, greys and whites. A tonal painting focuses on these shapes of tones to create an image.

Karen continued the theme inside the cabinet by painting it in Graphite and Coco, and finished the piece in Annie Sloan Soft Clear Wax.

What do you think? Have you ever used Chalk Paint® to paint tonely?

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.

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.

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.

Janice Issitt's Moroccan-inspired bedroom

 

Today, I am sharing the last project from Janice Issitt's three months as one of my Painters in Residence. Her Moroccan-inspired, bohemian bedroom sings with colour – and has all been achieved with my Chalk Paint® palette.

The way Janice works reminds me of the way the Bloomsbury set painted Charleston Farmhouse – no surface is left unpainted. Walls, floors, furniture and ornaments are all constantly being painted, re-painted, re-worked and re-imagined. Janice works from her home – the various rooms in her house are her work studios and are therefore in a constant state of flux, much like my own!

Here, Janice has used Provence as a backdrop, and has stencilled a mandala shape onto the wall using Napoleonic Blue. She painted the bed in Barcelona Orange with a feather design in Florence. On the tiles on the floor, she used Provence, Napoleonic Blue, Old White and Arles. The Moroccan-style side table features Henrietta, Provence, Napoleonic Blue and English Yellow, and the screen is Old Violet, Barcelona Orange, Emperor's Silk and English Yellow. The furniture has been finished in my Soft Clear Wax, and the floor has been sealed using my matt Lacquer.

Next week, I will share the last project from Beau Ford residency, and following this I will be announcing my next set of fabulous Painters in Residence. I can't wait!

Yours, Annie

Follow Janice's on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog: janiceissittlifestyle.blogspot.com

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

Janice Issitt's Vintage Floral Bedroom

After treating herself to this vibrant floral bed linen, Painter in Residence Janice Issitt decided to create a colour scheme to complement her new bedding.

The striking cupboard that sits next to her bed has been painted in a number of colours from the Chalk Paint® palette. The hot pink/red colour is a mix of Emperor's Silk and Henrietta, and was left over from another project that Janice worked on. She used Country Grey and Old White to provide a neutral background to frame the rest of the cupboard.

Janice cut her own stencils to give the cupboard character and a vintage feel. She painted the stencils in Aubusson Blue, Antibes Green, Florence and Greek Blue, picking out colours on her bedspread. She then finished the cupboard with Clear Soft Wax to protect the surface.

Janice also painted the mirror that sits on top of the cupboard in Paloma, a contemporary neutral with a purple tone. She used a combination of Clear and Dark Soft Wax to give it an aged appearance – the perfect complement to the vintage floral style of the room.  

What do you think of the finished look? Have you ever created a vintage floral colour scheme using Chalk Paint®?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Janice's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog: janiceissittlifestyle.blogspot.com

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

Colour of the year?

Pantone recently announced that ‘Marsala’ was its ‘Colour of the Year’ – an interesting gambit on many levels, I thought. And certainly it’s caused quite a media stir and has been commented upon up by several Annie Sloan Stockists, too.

The graphic designer’s friend

What’s it all about? Back in my college days studying Art, I never really came into contact with Pantone colours – it was much more a graphic design thingy and designers talked about it all the time as it was a way of specifying and matching colour. It was explained to me by a graphic designer as a means to clarify conversations such as “I would like it in red”, “What shade of red?”, “Somewhere between tomato and pillar box”. Pantone gets its precisely. Hence it’s not just Marsala but Marsala 18-1438.

Marsala

Pantone say it's ‘a naturally robust and earthy wine red’ and I quite like it personally. In fact, Marsala reminds me of a blend of three of my colours: Burgundy and Primer Red, with a dash of Old White Chalk Paint®.

Kicking off the colour conversation

And ‘Colour of the Year’? Pantone have been promoting a centrefold colour since 2000, I believe, and I think it’s a really interesting idea. If it raises the profile of colour in our lives that can only be a good thing. It makes people focus on colour and that’s exciting – we all need it. 

Having said that, I don’t think we should take it too seriously. It’s for colour forecasters – especially in fashion (clothes and handbags), beauty (we’ll see it in lipsticks) and it kicks off a conversation in interiors, furnishings, design, and graphics, which is all good stuff. It’s all about the zeitgeist and the ‘Colour of the Year’ reflects that – perhaps Marsala is about the need to be more ‘grounded’ in what to many seems a time of freefall?

One colour fits all?

I have to say that the idea of trying to make one colour the colour for the whole world in all these areas seems a wee bit ambitious, and anyway your shop or style simply might not be able to include this or any ‘Colour of the Year’. What happens if you live by the sea and you’ve chosen lots of greys? I say, don’t feel obliged to up paintbrushes and start spreading the Marsala.

Yours, Annie

Alex Russell Flint's Japanese Mural

Painter in Residence, Alex Russell Flint, is a realist oil painter known for his paintings of the female form. It's a real pleasure to see him experiment with Chalk Paint® to reproduce this stunning Japanese mural on his bedroom wall.

Alex took a classic Hiroshige print, Netting Wild Geese on the Hill at Okoshi, as inspiration for this stunning mural. An original woodblock print of the image hangs above his bed on the adjoining wall.

He painted the mural with a range of colours from the Chalk Paint® palette, some straight out of the tin and some mixed together. I love the way he used my paint like an artist's paint, mixing the colours together as he went.

In the rest of the bedroom, Alex echoed colours from the mural to create a cohesive look. He diluted Chalk Paint® in Aubusson Blue to make a wash for the remaining bedroom walls. For the floors, he created a wash with Old White. He painted the chest of drawers next to the bed in Coco and finished them with my Clear Soft Wax.

What do you think? Have you ever used Chalk Paint® to create a mural?

Keep your eyes peeled for the next project from Alex, as I show you the rest of this room.

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Alex's residency and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and his website:http://www.alexrussellflint.com

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

Bonjour Burgundy!

 

In between everything else that’s been happening just now – Ireland tour, South Africa tour, #AnnieSloanLate, not mention the Painters in Residence which I’ve been showcasing on the blog too – I could do with a large red. Well, I’ve got one!

Please say “santé” to my colour, Burgundy. For those who haven’t seen it before, it’s a very rich red – think cranberries and plums – and conjures up classic Victorian interiors and boho boudoirs. But it can also be quite lively: with some help from Old White it morphs into a delicious, raspberry-like pink to add something of an ‘oomph’ to a room.

I’m getting madder

My inspirations include the pigment called Alizarin Crimson,
 a synthetic product made by a man called William Perkin. He was an English dye chemist and he derived it from coal tar. But he was also pipped at the post by one day in filing his patent (which went to two German chemists, Karls Grabe and Lieberman… would you believe?)

The Liebermans were searching for a synthetic way to create the strong red pigment with a bluish tone that comes naturally from the dye derived from Madder plant roots. Madder was found in Tutankhamen’s tomb amongst other places, and is a dye often seen in Asia and hence in Turkish carpets. So Burgundy is ideal for creating that exotic Turkish boudoir feel.

Another source of inspiration for Burgundy is the purplish blue-red that became available in the 1860. The English called it 'magenta', after the Battle of Magenta in 1859, a narrow French victory over Austria in the struggle for Italian independence – which is a fascinating fact in itself.

I was drawn to the name and colour because of its classical French Napoleonic connections and I love Burgundy as representing that refined French claret-colour which I suggest you could put on, say, a fabulous chest of drawers, maybe on its own, or with a little clear wax or even some dark wax. It adds a glorious gravitas and also looks great with gold leaf. As a regal colour Burgundy also pairs extremely well with Château Grey.

Bubblegum pink

As a bluey- not orangey-red, you might not associate Burgundy as a ‘fun’ colour, but wait till you try adding Old White to it: then it becomes right up-to-date bright bubblegum pink. Already a lot of people are adding white to it and making  these extraordinarily vivacious pinks, just like Lady Penelope and Thunderbirds.

A tripartite colour combination of Burgundy, Provence and Arles (all complementary on the colour wheel) makes an amazing mix for a room. For example you might like to try an Arles-painted wall combined with a Burgundy piece, say a chest of drawers, with some added Provence in the room in some other way, perhaps inside the drawers?

Yours, Annie

Alex Russell Flint's Rustic Entrance Hall

For his second project, Painter in Residence Alex Russell Flint updated his entrance hall using my paint, Chalk Paint®, to transform the furniture, floors and walls in a rustic French style.

Alex scored diamond shapes on to the concrete floor and painted them in Graphite and Original to make them look like black and white tiles. Original is a warm off-white which works beautifully with the purple tones in Old Violet – the colour that Alex has diluted and used on the lime plaster wall. 

He painted the shoe rack in Old White, an off-white with a cooler tone, and finished with a coat of wax to protect the surface.

How have you used Chalk Paint® to revamp your entrance hall?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Alex's residency and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and his website:http://www.alexrussellflint.com

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

True Blue

It’s great to have Napoleonic Blue back in my Chalk Paint® colour range here in Europe; and for all my customers around the world who've been familiar with it for years, here’s a timely reminder of just what a deep, rich and warm blue it really is.

My inspiration isn’t the diminutive Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte himself, but the classic French Empire style he put his emperor’s seal to. It’s like saying ‘Victorian’ to describe an era rather than Queen Victoria herself, and to that extent Napoleonic Blue represents a ‘regimented’ style: it’s dark, it’s rich, it’s a bit ‘masculine’, I suppose. The French Empire style under Napoleon borrowed wholesale from classical Greece and Rome in a grand style with military motifs and masculine colours (and don’t forget Napoleon had conquered Egypt, which was yet another classical influence with its vibrant azure blues, rich greens, red ochre and acid yellows).

Pigments – something borrowed, something blue

Some of my stockists have likened Napoleonic Blue to the colour of freshly picked blueberries, and even the perfect blue for creating the Union Jack flag (though I’m not sure what the French would think of this!). I see it as a homage to ‘ultramarine blue’, which was extracted from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli – the incredibly bright blue pigment that was reputedly more expensive than gold in medieval times and the forerunner of all artists’ blues. It was used by some Medieval and Renaissance artists strictly to paint Mary and Jesus’ robes.

The history of colour in Art (which I studied) is a bit of a detective story and is fascinating in itself – but it boils down to the discovery of pigments. These are very fine powders sourced from the earth, from plants (and from dyes and synthetic materials). They’re a bit like spices with varying strengths and properties – some are opaque, some are like grains, some mix with oil, while others work better with water. There are actually no blue pigments you can find straight from the earth, so it’s always been a complicated and expensive process to get that 'true' blue (as with lapis lazuli).

Something versatile, something new

The great thing about Napoleonic Blue is that because it’s so rich and warm and strong and pure, I can see it being used in so many different ways. As a 'regal' stand alone, or with whites for example as you get all these pale warm blues. If you add dark wax it makes it silkier, deeper and even more gorgeous. Here are some neat ideas (below) found online:

The colour is absolutely tailor-made for neoclassical interiors but also works very well with the Swedish style. It’s a winning combination (well, it was for Napoleon till he met his Waterloo).

And although it refers back to the past it also has a more modern feel 1960’s pop art feel to it too – that bright blue used with orange or the bright-blue-with-bright-green mix so it looks fantastic with or over Barcelona Orange (which also gives it a truer navy blue) as well as with Antibes Green (see below).

Just looking at my Chalk Paint® colour card, you can see the range of blues goes from violet and lavender blues to grey blues, navy blues and the greenish hues of turquoise. Aubusson Blue for example, is from Prussian Blue, a cold, greeny blue, whereas Napoleonic Blue is a warm blue with the faintest hint of red (so it makes for a great purple – a favourite colour of Napoleon’s).

To get a warm blue you need an undertone of red and more red will give you a good purple especially with a bit of white added. When combined with Old White or Paris Grey, Napoleonic Blue can be used to create a really mellow farmhouse grey blue. When you start mixing my blues with other hues in the colour wheel, you’ll really notice just how vast the blue colour range is.

I created my paint, Chalk Paint®, from the idea of the artist using a palette to mix colours rather than robotically selecting from a bewildering kaleidoscopic chart – so go on, use Napoleonic Blue and be an artist!

Yours, Annie

P.S. I would like to thank my stockists and others for some of the ideas shown here via Pinterest and blogs which I acknowledge below. Apologies if I have omitted anyone! Search #Napoleonic on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more inspiration.

Finding Silver Pennies for the ‘grain sack dresser’

www.findingsilverpennies.com/2013/06/grain-sack-dresser-before-after.html

Bad Groupie for the Napoleonic Blue Piano
http://bad-groupie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/blue-painted-piano.html?m=1

Reloved Rubbish for the Union Jack chair
http://relovedrubbish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/chalk-painted-union-jack-chair-on-wheels.html

Suite Pieces for the 2-colour distressed wood
http://suitepieces.com/2-color-distress-with-chalk-paint/

Kelly at TheLily Pad Cottage, for the boy’s bed
http://www.thelilypadcottage.com/2013/08/annie-sloan-chalk-painted-bed.html

Tea and Roses
www.pinterest.com/deborahwestfarm/