Tick Tock

In light of the fact that I've recently only been showing the finished product of my projects, I decided to make sure to document every step of my work on this clock. Originally, in its yellow gold state, this clock sat in my grandmother's den loudly tick-tocking over her couch. While the sound will always remind me of her, I decided that the clock itself didn't have to always look like it came from a ninety-year old woman's living room.


The first step I took was to spray paint the entire clock silver. I had hoped to find some metallic paint at Home Depot, but the choices were very few and the smallest amount I could purchase was a gallon. And by the way, what are people doing with gallons of metallic paint? Are there entirely reflective bedroom walls in homes around the country?


After allowing the silver spray paint to dry for 24 hours, I applied a layer of periwinkle blue paint that we had matched to our sofa. In pictures the blue looks much more green and vibrant than it does in person, it is a more dusty and purple blue in actuality. I paid special attention to making sure that the blue sunk deep in to the crevices because in the next step I was going to scrape the majority of the blue off.


Once the blue had dried for about an hour, I went back with a piece of steel wool. The grooves in the clock's surface worked perfectly for this technique. The deep crevices held the blue shade out of the reach of the steel wool, while allowing the peaks and ridges to be revealed in silver once again.


In some areas you'll notice that I rubbed past the silver to expose the gold layer underneath. I really like the way that the two metallic's peek through, it gives the effect of a patina on the underlying metal. The glimpses of gold also help to soften the contrast between the gold numbers and hardware and the silver accents.


Can't wait until its 100% dry so I can hang it!

Mirror, Mirror...

It has smelled like paint a lot in my apartment lately, a sure sign that I'm on a binge of furniture painting. With so many interesting goodies from my grandmother's house to play with I can't resist giving them the updates that I spent my childhood dreaming up.

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This heavy wooden mirror used to sit on my grandmother's dresser. The gold paint finish was always boring and lackluster, so I decided to put a top coat of glossy turquoise paint (one I'd already used on a chair and table in my bedroom). After allowing the turquoise top coat to dry for about an hour (one episode of House to be exact), I went back in with a piece of steel wool exposing the gold paint below. I think that the elaborate winding leaves carved into the frame showed off the technique especially beautifully:

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Home Improvements

I'd like to use the new year as an excuse for my rampant redecorating, but in truth decorating is a near constant process for me. I have a number of prints of birds that I took from my Grandmother's house where they once hung in her guest bedroom. I didn't want to sacrifice the precious wall space to hang them all (I have a lot of art!) so I was stuck leaning them against the walls. This seemed like a precarious position for them, and in a burst of inspiration I came up with a great use for them. They are now hanging over the openings to my bookcase, providing beautiful coverage. They are easy to remove when I want to get into the shelves, but are a unique and exciting visual addition to the window seat area.

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I hung them using the type of molding clips that you'd use to hang a painting from an architectural relief. Yes, for some reason I have a number of random tools like that lying around the house. Now instead of seeing my mess of books and magazines, you see these beautiful old prints.

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I've also been working on decorating my four-poster bed. In my last apartment I had hung it with a number of sheer silk panels in shades of jade, crimson, and vermillion. I wanted to step away from that "Arabian-nights" vibe, especially because I didn't want to compromise the amazing view. This is an old curtain from one of my dorm rooms years ago that I attached to the "ceiling" of the four-poster with a staple gun. I think the effect is somewhat exotic and eastern, plus I get the cozy four-poster feeling without blocking any of my midtown view.

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Sarah Swathed

This painting is becoming a familiar sight on the blog, I just can't seem to stop working on it. For many reasons, one being that Sarah's dad might decide to buy it, I decided to cover up some of her nudity. One major inspiration for her drapery was that scandalous Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair cover that Annie Liebovitz shot.

I'm not happy with the drapery, it doesn't feel like it hangs appropriately, any painters have ideas?

I Was Framed...

Most of the paintings that I've made have never been framed, largely because of how expensive framing is. But there are a few favorites that I've always wanted to see properly presented in a frame. When we realized how well "Stripped Bare" fit with the atmosphere of our living room in New York, my parents volunteered to have it framed for me.

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We picked out this frame at Providence Picture Frame, an amazing place in Rhode Island where we've gotten most of the art in our Newport house framed. The battered wood frame with its silver and black detailing is the perfect foil for the cool tones of the flesh and curtains. It really ties the image in with the decor of the room as well. I can't believe how official it makes my work look, guess I better get my signature on there soon or no one will believe its mine!

New Years Makeovers

Many of you may know that my grandmother is living in a nursing home and my family has begun the process of cleaning out her home and getting it ready to be sold. As we are going through the house I'm discovering many quirky similarities between me and my grandfather (who I never met because he died in 1978). All of the furniture bears the marks of his repeated paintings and stainings, and proves that he was obviously a man who liked to alter things as much as I do. In that same tradition, I decided to alter two chairs that I brought down from her house so that they would better fit in with our new living room in New York.

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The process I used was a two-step method I found described in Martha Stewart Living for creating an "antiqued" painted finish. I first applied a coat of a pale Marie Antoinette-esque blue, and covered that with a coat of a purpley-grey neutral color. After letting the top-coat sit for an hour I went back in with steel wool rubbing away the top color to reveal the light blue in patches.

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