Creating the look of verdigris (patina) with Wise Owl Paint
Occasionally, you will luck into a piece that before you even start, you know exactly what you want to create with it. Granted, most of the time these makeover pieces have a mind of their own, but every so often, a piece plays nice, and it turns out exactly as you had in mind. This was that piece for me!
Sorry for the really bad before images, but without fail I get so excited about the project that I forget to grab a before image, until it is too late, and I am already a few steps in…like below!
One of these days I will remember to grab a good before, but you should have a general idea of what the mirror looked like before I started. I honestly envision its previous life was somewhere in a hotel room, I imagine this guy has seen a lot in its time, but I intend to give it a new lease on life.
I started with a base of Charleston Green, which is this amazing deep dark green that starts out looking almost black, it has a very classic look to it, and it is an amazing color for blending. Keep in mind however, I did not paint the entire frame in the Charleston Green, I literally haphazardly painted areas of the frame, knowing that I wanted to leave some areas exposed to allow different layers of color to shine through. From that point I literally began building my colors, letting the brush do all the work. For this project I used my Cling On! extra small round brush or R12, because it allowed me to get into all of the grooves, and really highlight the details on this mirror.
I honestly can’t say enough good things about the Cling On! brushes, as they have made my painting life easier. They hold so much paint, and just really help the chalk style paints glide over your surfaces with ease. My favorite by far is the S50 or shorty, but it was a little larger than what I needed for this project, such a shame the S30 had not been released at that point, as it would have been my go to for sure.
After the Wise Owl Charleston Green was on, I moved on to the Wise Owl Northern Lights, and began working to hit certain areas of the frame. I wanted it to look organic, as if the gold/copper tones of the mirror had been exposed to the elements for years, and the patina was just taking over. With this in mind I left the top corner of the mirror as is, without any paint, and then I began to build and layer more and more color as I moved further down the piece.
When applying the Wise Owl Northern Lights, I really just wanted to again blend and highlight only portions of the frame. Then with a small cloth misted in purified water, I went back in and wiped back some of the paint, to expose the original frame. I wanted to save myself a little time in the distressing department because I knew I would be adding a number of layers of paint, plus it worked as a guide to help me see where I might need a lowlight or highlight.
After blending Wise Owl Northern Lights into portions of the Charleston Green, and a few unpainted areas, I went back in and added Wise Owl Greenery. Greenery has since been retired, but it was this amazing bright spring green that really captured the patina colors I was looking for. I do not yet have a replacement color for the greenery, however I am open to suggestions, and will definitely update when I find one.
The last color in the Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis line to be added to the frame is Prussian Blue, and it is easily one of my favorite colors. It is rich, and highly pigmented, and without fail, I can never fully capture just how amazing this color is, but hopefully this small video will give you an idea!
If you are looking to create a gorgeous accent piece, or to give anything a pop of color, Wise Owl Prussian Blue is the pop of color you need in your life! Just as before, I hit only small sections of the mirror, literally a touch here, or a dab there as Wise Owl Prussian is a really strong color, and I didn’t want it to take over the entire project. Then I worked to blend and soften it into the other colors.
After adding the Wise Owl Prussian Blue, I allowed the project to dry over night before applying Wise Owl Varnish in Satin. The Varnish dries very quickly, but I wanted to allow additional time to dry on this piece due to all of the detailed areas, since I would be applying glaze, and didn’t want a hidden piece of semi-dry varnish impacting the glaze or vice versa.
The final step of the process was to go back in and highlight with Wise Owl Glaze in Patina. I focused most of the highlights towards the top of the frame. When applying glaze you will want to make sure you do so after sealing your project. I have made the mistake in the past of applying right after the chalk style paints, and unfortunately the glaze just grabs, and doesn’t glide across the piece. By sealing first you give the glaze a slicker surface to move across, so that it wiggles itself into the places where you want it, and still gives you time to wipe back and move the glaze around.
After the glaze is applied, you are finished, simply set back and enjoy the fruits of your labor! Questions or comments? Hit me up below!