I’ve been working on framing family photos lately and today I worked on this frame.
Hold that thought a minute. I just had to share that we got about 2 feet of snow here in south central PA. Yes, that’s our van under all that snow and it was barricaded by a 4 foot wall of snow made by the plow. Poor hubby spent hours digging us out.
Ok, back to the frame. It actually isn’t wood. Did I fool anyone? The title surely gave it away. Anyway, it was a gold resin frame that someone painted this strange blue, which is probably why it ended up in a thrift store for $2.00.
Now, even as a professional decorative artist, I’m not generally into faux. I think it can be hard to do really well. It may look good in pictures or at a distance, but once you get a good look, you can tell it’s not the real thing. I’m in the process of framing my old family photos in dark wood frames and this blue one was not going to do at all. So, faux was the way to go.
I started out by painting the frame in Asphaltum, a very dark brown acrylic paint color. It took me one coat and a touch up to get into all of the nooks. You can see some of the blue peaking through in the picture below.
I then brushed a thin coat of burnt umber, which is a little translucent. This is just to add a subtle variance in shade. Once that was dry, I lightly brushed some raw sienna on the “peaks” of the detail, to bring it out. At this point the frame looked good, but it was a little too brown compared to my other frames.
So, I mixed a drop of burgundy with burnt umber and brushed that into the crevices. Now, acrylic paint is very flat, so it did not resemble real wood at this point. It lacked the luster and depth of old wood. I brushed my favorite dark walnut stain into all the nooks and crannies and wiped it off the peaks with a rag. Once that dried, I sprayed it with a glossy polyurethane coat.
When placed side-by-side with the other frames, it’s pretty convincing.
39 Responses
I actually like the blue, but that is amazing how you made it really look like wood. I would never have known!
Once again, very well done!! Looks fabulous!
(I'm in Western PA & our place was looking like yours – 26in I measured!)
Looks awesome! You sure know how to pick your stuff!
I envy your snow btw. I looked at my lawn today and felt it could have used a mowing. Sigh..
Donna
You did a fabulous job! Looks.awesome!
Your frame turned out great! I love all the detail work on the frame. It is really pretty. Great buy for $2. Love & blessings from NC!
Looks great!
*hugs*deb
I think that is looks faux wonderful…sorry, couldn't resist the pun.
I love doing faux finishes on small items.
We're dry as a bone out here in Colorado! Love the frame and I just loved the birdcage!
I think the frame looks great – believable for sure.
I agree that wood can be hard to fake. When I worked at Faux Bix, we had to replicate the existing wood in areas of an old Victorian remodel. It was fun, but painstaking for sure.
I miss doing faux on such a high end level but I still enjoy doing it here at home.
Thanks for your very nice comment about my pillows.
Rhonda
It looks great.
I think it looks amazing!!! The colour variation and sheen is so perfect, I wouldn't have been able to tell it wasn't aged wood!
Beautiful job and certainly looks like wood to me. We feel your pain — back pain that is, from shoveling. We got 24 inches yesterday and more today in NJ.
Beautiful job and certainly looks like wood to me. We feel your pain — back pain that is, from shoveling. We got 24 inches yesterday and more today in NJ.
It is hard to tell in the picture! It turned out great! I love frames with detail like that.
Very nice job. I love the color. The final product looks very expensive!! I'm glad that I live in the South when I see all of that snow!
LOVE that frame!
you fooled me! bravo!
Wow, it looks GREAT! Looks like the real thing to me! Thank you for sharing your technique!
Wow! I would have never known! Great idea… And what a lovely frame, love the design.
Hope you had (or have) fun playing in the snow! Good luck getting out anywhere! 🙂
aMAZing!!!! Can't believe it was just blue!
You could have fooled me in the photos. Maybe not up close… but your paint technique it great. Nice job
Beautiful!!! It turned out amazing!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Wow, you had me going. I read the title but didn't really put the two together. I love it.
That looks really beautiful !
WOW that looks GREAT!
You have done magic with paint! Nice Job
Ooh! Pretty pretty. I couldn't tell it was faux. Love it!
Gorgeous frame! Not so gorgeous snow! We are expecting 8 inches tomorrow. YUCK!
What a deal on that frame too!!!! Love it!
I wish I had your energy to paint so many things. I just paint rooms;) I spray paint too but that is about it. All your things make me want to do bigger things but I know me. I won't.
Beautiful frame.
I think it looks great and I love the detailing on it!
It's beautiful! I would have snapped that one up in a minute. I love the textures and curves on it. Great job, girl!
Brenda
Girl, you could have fooled me! It looks fantastic…wouldn't have known it wasn't the real thing unless I read your post!
Blessings, Grace
Well done Miss Mustardseed!
Perfect~ faux real….smiles.
Looks AMAZING! But I am not surprised because every thing you do is so awesome! You are always an inspiration! Thank you for the comment you left on Makayla's dresser on my blog! It is so encouraging to have some one with you talent compliment my work!
Hi,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for leaving such a nice comment on my painting efforts! A real compliment from someone who is clearly very talented.
Your frame looks great.
Hope you have plenty of food in the house with all that snow. We have rain at the moment but it changes daily from snow to rain to sun (welcome to the UK!).
It looks convincing to me. Another fine Mustard Seed success :).
love it…
great frames!
great project!
Your frame is wonderful and i appreciate that you shared the 'how to' with color names etc..
I'm in VA – the snow is just starting to go away…whew!!!