“Florentine Plaster”

The incredible Florentine plaster is an easy, yet gorgeous faux finish technique. Still, after about twenty years, one of the best sellers. FP looks like a multi layer technique, but is not. Production is fast, easy and can not be compared to other textured techniques, due to inexpensive application. Contemporary, modern or electic, take your pick, Florentine Plaster will always be the "talk of the party"

“Croco”

An exquisite crocodile leather look alike faux finish. Designed and created for a famous baseball player. The king size bed, custom made to highlight this faux wall finish. Mediums used: Water Putty, Olive oil, gift-wrap etc.

“Grandeur”

(`granjər,`granˌdyo͝or/) noun: splendor and impressiveness, especially of appearance or style. The dictionary says it all. This grandiose faux finish was created with MM metallic plaster, gold powder and assorted MM metallics.

“There's No Crying in Baseball”

An extremely fast and effective wall glazing finish resembling a baseball. Created with paint only.

“Tuscany”

I found this beautiful faux finish in Florence, Italy in the Orsini Palace.

Welcome to My Home

Hello and Welcome!! My name is Heidi and one of my passion is faux painting. However, there are otherpasions and I live them daily. Take your pick. Interior design, decorating on the shabby side, gardening, herbs, fashion, culture and and last but not least "Style". In my world, the day should have 48 hours and more.

I am here to share some of my adventures with you, because I love to share and teach. I hope that you come by often and stay a while. Thank you for sharing your time with me.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Garth Benton - Mastering Trompe L'oeil Trickery


 
 
TROMPE L'OEIL WORKSHOP

As human beings, we are unique from all other creatures on the planet because of one magnificent quality that we all share: We create just for the sake of creating.  And as creative beings, it is not by happenstance
- but by design - that we seek out the means to fulfill this human propensity by exploring different avenues of expression.  Whether we choose our individual form of expression by writing; or by dance and theater; by sculpting and graphic pictorial art; or by any of the other means available to demonstrate human creativity, we strive to obtain the skills that will enable us to put our creations out there for the world to see; out there so that we can share our creations with others. (The mere fact that you may be considering attending, or have already signed up to attend my Trompe L'Oeil workshop at the Faux Academy attests to the above.)
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In my life, I have chosen the painted image as a means to express my creative side.  We all draw upon our unconscious - to a certain degree - for creative inspiration.  And since the language of the unconscious is imagery, I felt that painting images was the most direct way of expressing my unconscious inspirations.
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In my Trompe L'Oeil workshop, I will help you to learn the techniques needed to express your own inspirations and thereby achieve amazing results.  I do this by reducing the steps needed to achieve a finished work to a minimum; the equation, so to speak, into it's lowest common denominator; into the simplest approach. An approach, I might add, that even a non artist can assimilate and execute in order to achieve amazing results. (I sincerely feel that whether you possess any degree of experience or none at all; whether you have proven artistic abilities or not, you can greatly benefit from the workshop.)
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Above all, for those who do attend, we are going to have fun!  The "fun"
and thrill that goes with turning a blank canvas or bare wall into something wonderful - something that never existed on that blank canvas or bare wall before!  If you are anything like me, you will step back from a finished work and feel a "glow" and a sense of exhilaration at what you have just created!
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In my seven-day class the schedule will be as follows:

Day 1-3)  ARCHITECTURAL TROMPE L'OEIL
          a) Egg and dart moldings
          b) Fluted column with ionic capital;
          c) Acanthus leaf motifs and rosettes, etc. 
Day 4-6)  NON ARCHITECTURAL TROMPE L'OEIL
          a) Draperies
          b) Sashes,fringe and tassels  
Day 7)    FAUX BOIS
          a) Panel with moldings. 

I will supply pre-drawn cartoons on tracing paper of the various designs that we will all share.  (This will eliminate the time-consuming necessity of drawing the designs individually.)  I will also supply light-weight canvas (sign cloth) to all who attend.
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Remember, the main goal of the workshop is not only to achieve results in trompe l'oeil you have never before achieved, but - above all else - to have a fun and enjoyable experience, and a sense of fulfillment.
These are my sincerest wishes for you all.   -- Garth Benton

Sunday, January 17, 2010

What? Yes !!..... Faux Painting with paper.

Yes, you heard it. You can create awesome works of art with brown packing paper. Some of you know about my Louie (LV) luggage. Hey, it was free. I just had to take  it off  the display shelves. Aren't I special?? ☺☺☺

This faux  finish is almost as old as I am ... not really. In 1967 I painted furniture. To save some time rather then stripping, I wrapped the furniture. Which not only gave me a cool finish, it also looked interesting, it was considered "art". I was able to sell the furniture like hot cakes. In today's economy "heirloom furniture" is just as "hot"

Even so the finish is decades old, I consider it as one of our bestseller due to its versatility.It's classic, it's a good thing.

I worked for 18 months for a SF Giants baseball player. The mens' locker room was done in this finish  inspired by Kirk's baseball glove.
This faux finish technique is fun, and easy  to do but very effective and it is one of the samples in the beginning En vogue faux painting class.

Of course you want the technique:

Brown construction paper ( Home Depot)
VOV wallpaper paste        ( Home Depot)
Raw Umber tinted acrylic wax
Rags, rags, rags
Brushes and rollers

Tear paper into irregular pieces
Paste onto the wall
Cover with paste overlay the next piece, cover with paste and so on.
Tricks of the Trade: Save the straight edge pieces for ceiling perimeter, corners and around doorways and remember if you tear small pieces you'll never get done ☺☺☺

Let dry and wax:

Uses: Furniture, walls, floors, accessories, kitchen counters, etc. etc. almost anything.
"Reinterpreting the past – traditional with a twist will be hot in furniture – taking the furniture of the days of old and adding tricks of the trade to put a new face on them."
 "If you have to sum up the hot furniture trends for this year and next – one "word comes to mind – eclectic!

 2010 "hot" furniture trends






Friday, January 15, 2010

Is it spring???

A wonderful springy morning to you in the Midwest.


This morning I received this via e-mail. OK, Lisa thanks for the ciggies, only you would know how hard it is not to have them.(two addicts in a pod) but who wants to know? Patti, Becky, Russ and Kathy left other goodies. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

 When I woke up this morning I felt better. No temperature, I guess I am healed. My Dad told me yesterday "weeds don't die" meaning that I am tough.
For the first time in a week I opened my drapes to let the world (friends and neighbors) know that I am still kicking ....I was greeted by sunshine  as if "spring had sprung"

Being ADD as so many designers, artists and creative souls including Leonardo da Vinci, my thoughts were racing. Get seeds, potting soil, get your cold frame going etc. etc. Too many thoughts to mention. BTW did you know that"normal" people have about 60,000 thoughts per day? Who would have known. I, on the other side (Jeanine did I get it??) have 200,000!  Only meditation helps me to get down to earth.

I love to garden and have many friends infected with this relaxing hobby. I can't wait to get out there. BTW many artists seem to think that.
Gardening is the epitome of creation
Trailer "Artists In their Gardens"
The film reflects their access to the process of artistic creation in their art as well as in their gardens and portrays four artists and their gardens: The Egyptian artist Ghada Amer, who lives in Harlem, New York, and is held to be one of the most provocative and innovative female artists of our times; famous Japanese fashion designer Kenzo, who has created his own little piece of Japan, centered around a garden in Paris, architect and theorist Charles Jencks in Scotland, who is regarded as the “inventor” of the post-modern and Austrian expressionist painter Xenia Hausner, who designed the sets for more than a hundred theater and opera productions in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, London and Brussels. Courtesy of Österreicher  Rundfunk (ORF) Austrian Broadcast Network

Alas, I must go to the garden center.
 
I am grateful for my friends and family

Fondly, 
God bless






Tuesday, January 12, 2010

A woman of my kind


"It appears as if we've come across this rouged monarch draped in his royal robes (Cremant du Roi) during a transcendent moment, carried away on the exquisite proboscis-tickling bubbles of Veuve Amiot sparkling wine. A convincing design of infinite charm that effortlessly persuades without sacrificing one jot of intimate amusement. In 1884, Elisa Amiot suddenly found herself a widow (veuve) with four children to raise. As she lived in the Sau
: Leonetto Cappiello Italian (1875-1942)

Courtesy: Of Yaneff.com

Heidi" thoughts....

This 9ft by 6ft canvass mural is a "Thank you" to Nikki my daughter- in-law who designed the header for the blog.The mural will be installed in such a fashion that it can be taken down for " keep sake " The layout is done and it looks pretty darn good. I am thinking that this would be a great piece of art in any wine cellar.For the wine and art connoisseurs among us please check out the Veuve Amiot website"Shine" and tell your client the history behind it. As a thank you present you could even give a bottle of this sparkling wine to your client.Your client will always remember you. "Remember the gal who gave us the champagne? We need her to do more work for us!"I hope that Nikki coughs one up also ( hint, hint) in addition I would like her to make my fave avocado salad which marvelous can be paired with that champagne, TRY IT - YOU LIKE IT!!!!
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Supplies:
Buttery chunks of avocado, little bits of radish heat, and simple, lemony vinaigrette make his salad a crip and refreshing balm for wounded souls,

Mediums
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
     (Leftovers maybe used to Verdigris remember "recycle")
  •   1/2 cup olive oil
    (Leftovers maybe combined with raw umber tint which will give you an awesome wall finish)
  • 2 firm-ripe avocados 
    (Leftovers can be used for a really great nutritious face mask and I do not mean the salad).
  • 3 heads Bibb lettuce (3/4 pound total), leaves torn if large
  • 1 heart of romaine, sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 medium radishes, thinly slice

Technique:



  • Whisk together lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then whisk in oil. Quarter, pit, and peel avocados, then cut into bite-size pieces. Toss with greens, radishes, and just enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper. 





  • Tools:
    Champagne Flutes
    Hands
    Fork and knifes
    Kitchen knife
    Bowl
    Plates

    Bon Appetite!!!!




  • Friday, January 8, 2010

    " Prosit Neu Jahr" and "Happy New Year" to everybody

    Am I insane?  I must be ,,, trying to "blog" and not having any idea as of yet  of what I am  doing. In addition, I speak with an accent and alas, sometimes I do write with an accent. This prevented me from blogging for a long time.Several years ago, my son told me that I could not write and I developed a severe case of "writer's block". I know that he was trying to be kind, because he offered to do it for me. NO! I just had to find out what is was that affected me so negatively.Both my son Steve,  and my daughter- law Nikki , write professionally.Nikki, God bless her, also took over the digital imagery and offered to develop the header. Thanks Nikki... you're smoking.   Last but not least, my  beautiful daughter, Steffi,  (I pronounce it shteffi, but who is listening) LOL, a fashion designer, always encouraged me to go for it. Thank you again to all of you. So.... I ask you all  to be kind and patient with my strenuous efforts
    .

    Taking the name”Simply Faux Painting" into consideration, one might think it's all about "Faux Painting" it’s not! It's about home fashions, fashions, design, creativity, artistry, style, and culture. Don't take the word “culture" too serious. I am from Europe and was raised amidst all those things.Needless to say it’s my live; consequently,I feel  that I will be able to contribute. 

    As my fellow country man, " Mr. California" would say...... I'll be back!!!

    Servus and God Bless, 

    Heidi