Today as I looking through all of my projects from the week, I found the statue of Kwan Yin I was commissioned to paint a month or so ago. Time has gotten away with me as usual and I remembered that I promised a tutorial on how I achieved this look. This was one of my very favorite custom jobs and this is why. When my client, a very sweet local lady, wanted to spruce up her statue of 35 years, I was super excited. On a visit to her home to see it before I got started, I noticed it was very porous and dull looking from years of being out in weather.
That night I was looking at photos of other statues for inspiration and notice how absolutely beautiful the patina verdigris is. I found this on several statues around the world and even on a church I visited in St. Louis Missouri not long ago, but the one picture that made up my mind was our very own beloved Statue of Liberty.
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| source www.kidport.com |
I am now in love with verdigris and had to research just how this gorgeous color is achieved. I learned that this is a bright bluish-green encrustation or patina formed on copper or brass by atmospheric oxidation, consisting of basic copper carbonate. So my wheels starting turning on how to get this look on concrete instead of copper.
Well if I didn't have a copper statue, the next best thing was to make it look like copper first. I bought a can of Rustoleum's spray paint in Copper. I have to say, I was a little hesitant to spray this old statue that has been on my client's patio for decades. The very thought of ruining something so special had my stomach in knots! But after about the first 30 seconds of spraying, she started to come alive and I was relieved!
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| It took the entire can of the copper spray paint because of the porous concrete. |
Next came the tough part of manipulating paint to achieve this authentic patina. I brought with me that day several shades of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint™. Of them were, Antibes, Provence and Florence. I also brought Old White in case I needed to do a bit of white washing when I was finished.
I knew Antibes would be used for sure as it is a pretty vibrant green. Now for the blueish teal shade. I tested both Provence and Florence in a inconspicuous spot and discovered Provence was the better choice as it was more of a calmer shade.
I started with random dabbing with the Antibes first and then adding the Provence as I need to calm the Antibes down. By mixing the two and going back and forth, I started to see that glorious verdigris! At this point between the sun shinning that beautiful morning and the sounds of the birds singing in the trees, I had a sense of serenity combined with my creative juices flowing freely.
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I moved from section to section taking care to make sure both
colors were blended well. |
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| My favorite picture, love that color! |
Not only was I exploding with excitement of what was happening beneath my paint brush, but I was privileged to listen to my talented client playing songs of yesteryear on her accordion inside, just lovely!
I decided that this was just the right look I was trying to achieve therefore, it didn't need to be white washed with the Old White.
When this project was over, I was so delighted with the results, but it was a bitter sweet ending. Yes, the statue of Kwan Yin turned out splendidly and my client was thrilled, but sort of sad that it was over. One thing is for sure, I will definitely be using this technique again! Wouldn't it look incredible on a dresser or headboard?!
Thank you so much for stopping in today. May you be inspired with all your projects this week!
