Using the right tools and materials is, of course, absolutely essential if you are to achieve the best results! Everything I’ve painted in the book uses my Annie Sloan paints and materials.
PAINT
There are many paints on the market, but I have designed the projects in this book with my purpose-made Chalk Paint® in mind (see Useful Addresses on page 158 for stockists). The paint can be applied to most surfaces or used as a dye for fabrics (see www.anniesloan.com for information on unsuitable surfaces). It has a very matte texture and absorbs wax easily, and has been specially created to be used in a huge variety of ways—for example, as a wash, with or without texture, applied thickly, on fabric, or as a dye—which is why it lends itself so well to painting everything.
One of the great bonuses of using this particular paint is that there is no need to prepare furniture first by priming or rubbing down, which means you can start painting easily and quickly while you have the urge. The paint, despite being water-based, even mixes easily with the solvent-based wax too, so you can color the final finish to get the exact color you want. As a general guide, you will need 1-quart (1-liter) cans of paint for large projects and small project pots for painting and decorating smaller areas. For the most part, you only need to apply one coat of Chalk Paint®, but where two coats are necessary, apply the first one with a big brush.
COLOR
Don’t be shy to use colors. Color scares most people and suggesting that they use colors can conjure up a circus-like array of hues, so they err on the side of caution and end up with a lot of neutrals, which can be disappointing. Perhaps it would be better to focus on some neutrals and then add some color. For instance, when thinking of what color to paint a piece of furniture for a particular room, you could start with a palette of neutrals with, say, one or two stronger colors for interest and focus. In other words, either paint a piece of furniture in a defined color with neutral walls or vice versa. Remember that colored waxes can change the color too, so take this into consideration when you are applying your chosen paint.
My paints are made so that they can be mixed together, which means you can also create your own colors. To do this, begin by mixing different paints together on paper, in a paint roller tray, or on an Annie Sloan MixMat™. Use your fingers or small brushes to work out the proportions of each color. Once you have determined the ratio of colors, you can go on to make larger quantities, using this as your guide. Start with the greater quantity and then add the second and third colors, testing all the time to see where you are in the mix.
Color is extraordinary as it changes so much according to the context within which it is used—a color that looks great in one room could look like dirty pond water in another because of the light levels (either artificial or natural) and the surroundings. If you are painting a piece of furniture for a particular room, it might be a good idea to make up your paint colors in that room.
If you want clashing colors, then use adjacent primary and secondary colors. These colors can also be mixed together if you wish to make adjustments—for example, add Barcelona Orange to Emperor’s Silk to make it more of a tomato-red.
THE COLOR WHEEL
A lot of the color wheels you come across are abstract and technical-looking. For that reason, I have created my own triangular color wheel, using my paint colors. The neutrals are positioned separately. Each neutral is a mix of colors—for instance, Paris Grey is a mix of blue and orange.
To find a color’s complementary color, look at its “opposite” color on the other side of the wheel. Facing English Yellow, for example, are Emile and Old Violet. Use a little of either of these to darken English Yellow, or use the two colors together but alter their tonal values by adding Old White. This means that you could have creamy pale yellows alongside lavender/lilac colors, although not in equal amounts. For example, use Old Violet and Old Ochre—which are opposite each other on the wheel—together in a room or on a piece of decoration.
BRUSHES
I have created a range of brushes for painting furniture to achieve the wide range of marks, textures, and flat surfaces needed for painting different styles. You can use any brush you wish, but it does need to have certain qualities, because working with bad brushes can be very frustrating. The hairs should be fairly long and flexible, with a little bounce to allow you to be expressive in your work. Don’t choose brushes that are too short, since the paint will not flow well, and don’t use a brush with hard and inflexible bristles, because the paint will look scratchy. Don’t have a floppy brush, because you will have to work too hard to make the paint spread.
Some projects also use artists’ brushes. These are softhaired brushes from artists’ suppliers. Cheap craft brushes will only result in frustration, as they are not responsive and the hairs quickly become floppy or fall out. The most expensive artists’ brushes are made from sable hair, which are very good, although squirrel hair and high-quality synthetic brushes don’t cost as much and work extremely well, offering the right amount of strength and spring.
Throughout this book I have recommended brushes for each project (see Brush Types and Sizes, below), but it’s important to pick a size that feels comfortable for you to use and suits the size of the piece of furniture or the wall or floor you’re working on.
BRUSH TYPES AND SIZES
Where possible, I suggest you use my range of brushes. In addition to the Annie Sloan brushes listed below, I also use a selection of artists’ detail brushes. For the projects in this book, I have used the following equivalents:
OVAL BRISTLE BRUSHES
Annie Sloan Pure Bristle Brushes in Small, Medium, and Large
FLAT BRUSHES
Annie Sloan Flat Brushes (made of synthetic fibers) in Small and Large
WAX BRUSHES
Annie Sloan Wax Brushes (made of pure bristle) in Small and Large
STENCIL BRUSH
Annie Sloan Stencil Brush (made of pure bristle)
WAXES, SANDPAPER, VARNISHES, AND CLOTHS
I wax more or less everything I paint to get the right finish for my furniture and walls. It makes my projects strong and practical, and gives them a beautiful, workable finish. I recommend you choose a soft wax that can be applied easily with a brush. I often use a 1in (2.5cm) brush to apply wax, but you can use a large brush to get it done quickly if that feels more comfortable. After adding a layer of clear wax to a piece, you can then start applying dark wax or coloring the clear wax with some of my paint to alter the finish. (For details on different waxes, see Types of Wax, opposite.)
For the distressed look, or for achieving a very fine finish, you need to be able to sand the waxed surface to reveal the wood or another coat of paint—so have a range of fine-, medium-, and coarse-grade sandpapers at hand for this purpose. I produce an Annie Sloan range of Sanding Pads in all three grades. I find that using just the fine and medium grades is usually enough, but sometimes move on to the coarser paper if I really want to distress the furniture.
The only time I use varnish is on floors, when I am doing découpage, and for transfer work. I prefer to apply wax to my work at the end because it has such a soft finish, can be colored and changed as you work, and stops the work chipping.
Make sure you also have a good supply of cloths: use old rags for general use and clean, dry, lint-free cloths for removing excess wax, polishing, wiping brushes, applying and wiping off paint, and general cleaning.
TYPES OF WAX
My Annie Sloan range also includes a selection of waxes, which are used in some of the projects, as follows:
CLEAR WAX
Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax
DARK WAX
Annie Sloan Dark Soft Wax
BLACK WAX
Annie Sloan Black Chalk Paint® Wax
WHITE WAX
Annie Sloan White Chalk Paint® Wax
ADDITIONAL ITEMS
These items are not essential, but I use them regularly and they will prove helpful for many of the projects in the book:
• Table protector
• Paint roller tray
• Annie Sloan MixMat™
• Mixing stick
• Pencil
• Sketchpad
• Scissors
• String
• Yardstick (meter ruler)
• Tape measure
• Masking tape
• Sponge rollers (the Annie Sloan range includes small and large)
• Latex (rubber) gloves (entirely optional, as these are not something I use)
The following items are used less regularly, but are needed for specific projects:
• Lino cutter
• Hot glue gun
• Annie Sloan Coloured Linen (for soft-furnishing projects)
• Batting (wadding)
• Iron and ironing board
• Stencils (see the Annie Sloan stencil range)
• Stencil brush
• Annie Sloan Découpage Glue and Varnish
• Water-based gold size, such as Annie Sloan Gold Size
• Lacquer, such as Annie Sloan Lacquer
• Annie Sloan Craqueleur
• Large sponge (for cleaning large surfaces)
• Newspapers (for the frottage technique)
• Old pail (bucket) or bath tub (for dyeing projects)
