Help - Decorative Painting on Furniture
Maria Catalano
boxes and trays and am not sure what the best type of paint/varnish to use.
For example, is it OK to use my normal canvas oil paints?
I would appreciate any advice.
TIA
Maria
Bob Speel
Going by historical precedent, oil paints for canvas are just fine. The
earliest altar paintings by the Italian painters are generally oil on wood,
and we can think of secular pieces eg by Paulo D'Uccello. Hundreds of years
on, they are still bright. In the 19th C, furniture painting was quite
popular, and the Pre-Raphaelites in particular produced some beautifully
painted objects, for example for the house of William Morris. Burne-Jones
did a piano, Alma Tadema a big screen (now in V&A), and Rossetti a cabinet
(Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). I think these were all normal oils. The only
thing is that the products were darker and richer, also shinier than on
canvas. William MacMurdo and his circle also produced some painted
furniture, as (most spectacularly on show in his house outside Paris) did
Maurice Denis in France.
All best
bob
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Bob Speel EMail b...@speel.demon.co.uk
"ignorant but never silent"
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Rose Madder
>
>I would like to attempt doing some decorative painting on furniture, wooden
>boxes and trays and am not sure what the best type of paint/varnish to use.
>For example, is it OK to use my normal canvas oil paints?
You should post your question to the < alt.crafts.professional > newsgroup
(don't let the "professional" scare you off -- they answer all sorts of novice
questions, just like this group). The answer to your question is YES, you
can use your oil paints, but there are enamels made specifically for painting
on furniture that is later varnished. Some people refer to this decorative work
as Tole Painting, although the original meaning of Tole Painting had to do
with painting on tin or tin-coated metal. Alternatively, you might search
around on the Web for a craft supply site that can send you a catalog or
refer you to subscriptions to magazines on Tole Painting.
--
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Colorful but fugitive.
~ Rose Madder ~ not emailable.
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