I’m very fond of this type of chair because it lends itself to so many techniques. This is the story of how the painting of a piece of furniture can evolve—I often know exactly what I want to do; at other times, the piece develops more slowly.
I needed a blank canvas to start with, as the dark wood was distracting, so I painted the chair in Paris Grey, a classic, mid-tone color that is neither dark nor light. Painting with a neutral color such as this is a good idea as it provides a perfect base for bright or pale colors. The chair now looked acceptable, but needed a little more to make it interesting. I tried frottage (a word I use to describe the technique of rubbing crumpled-up newspaper over a thin wash of paint—see page 152) in Greek Blue and the effect was great.
I still wasn’t convinced, though, so I left the chair alone for a while. I went on a lino-printing workshop and returned with a design of a cup and saucer. Lino printing is a method used by many artists, including Picasso and Matisse, and was very popular in the 1950s. It’s recently returned to favor, as it has a retro look but, best of all, the hard, old lino has been replaced by a softer material that’s very easy to use.
I found my teacup design used upside down worked very well, as it looked quite abstract, and that I could wrap the lino around the chair legs and back. I used the oval part of the design to create a symmetrical focus, while the textured pattern of the rest of the design combined well with the frottage to give a random but even effect.
YOU WILL NEED
• Chalk Paint® in Napoleonic Blue, Paris Grey, and Greek Blue
• Pencil
• Piece of soft-sided lino
• Lino cutter
• Small flat brush
• Sketchbook
• Medium oval bristle brush
• Paint roller tray
• Newspaper
• Small wax brush
• Clear wax
• Clean, dry, lint-free cloths
1Make a drawing of whatever you want to feature on the piece of furniture, whether this is abstract or naturalistic, copied or taken from a book. Trace the drawing onto the lino with a pencil (you can also draw the design freehand if you wish).
2Take the lino cutter and dig gently and smoothly into the lino. I cut some of the lines twice (i.e. a double line) to strengthen and emphasize the design. Remember that you can always go over the cutting again once you’ve done a test print.
3Once you are happy with your design, use the small flat brush to paint a thin, but undiluted, coat of Napoleonic Blue onto your lino print.
4Do a test print in your sketchbook to check that you are happy with the effect. Make sure you press down gently and evenly. Some people like to use a roller to make sure the pressure is applied evenly.
5Use the oval bristle brush to paint the chair in Paris Grey—I painted every which way to create texture. Paris Grey started out as a mid-tone, but ended as the lightest tone, against the bright Greek Blue and the deep Napoleonic Blue.
6Once the coat of Paris Grey is completely dry, add a small amount of water to some Greek Blue in the paint roller tray to create a thin paint. It should be quite drippy.
7Using the oval bristle brush, apply a thin layer of the diluted Greek Blue over the Paris Grey. (You should still be able to see the gray underneath.)
8Scrunch and crinkle up some newspaper and lay it flat on the painted surface. There should still be some crinkles left in the newspaper.
9Push the newspaper down and then quickly peel it off. Repeat quickly over the rest of the chair, remembering to work into the joins.
10Take the piece of lino, paint it with Napoleonic Blue (or a color of your choice), and position it on the chair. I placed the print upside down in some areas to create a design that is a little more abstract and interesting.
11Keep printing until you are happy with the overall look. I added stripes down the side of my lino design to create some variation in the image. The lino can be wrapped around the chair splats to create different patterns.
12Once the paint has dried, use the wax brush to apply clear wax to the chair. Remove excess wax with a clean cloth.
