Fresco Painted Background {Dark Colours}

I was impatiently tapping my feet yesterday waiting for this video to upload. Mark films them in HD, so the quality is such that you can watch them on a big screen HD TV. But that also means so much information, on quite a long video takes a looooong time to upload on our not-so-brilliant connection out here in the middle of rural farmland. But today, hooray, I wake to a new video ready to share with you all!

We have been building up all week to prepping you for some more nitty gritty stuff that you can really get your teeth into. Up until now it's been some more simple stuff, quick effects, textural ideas, nothing too challenging. But I know many of you have watched my demos at shows, and wanted a detailed how to that you can follow along with, so this is one of those videos.

Can I just say at this point. I am not an formally qualified artist, I have no art training, I never studied art at school. What I do is all self taught, or methods I have learned from many other lovely sharing people by reading (books/magazines/blogs), taking classes, watching people demo etc. I went to uni and I trained as a secondary school teacher in the late 1980's. The main subject I taught was Japanese, with a dabble of geography, and social studies (a year 7-10 humanities subject in New Zealand). So if I can do this painting malarkey, then i KNOW you can too!

What I do, and how I do it may quite possibly be frowned upon by some, hey-ho. I tend to do things in a rustic manner which probably raises more than a few trained artists' eyebrows! My philosophy has always been, try it, if you like it go with it. By jumping in boots and all, you often experience many happy accidents along the way. I think that we, and even the education system here is a lot less formal about how you get from point A to point B these days compared to how artists used to be trained, and this freedom means it is OK for us crafty peeps to have a go, there certainly is no right or wrong. Theres all kinds of ways.

To utterly lose yourself in the enjoyment of discovering 'what if' is great therapy, great relaxation, and a perfect way to wind down. So, please don't be fearful of creativity, once you get started, it all seems to just happen, and your inital worry about doing something wrong, or making a mistake evaporates.

We put videos online to help consumers and the shops we supply around the world understand more about our products, ways to use them, tips, shortcuts, product features etc. You Tube is an amazing resource. I love to see what other people are doing with our products. We are so fortunate in this day and age to have so many people who are freely willing to share their time and expertise in this way. It does take time to plan, prepare for and produce this information, so your comments and questions on all of our videos are very much appreciated more than you will ever realise. So a big thank you for taking the time to comment on our blog, or on the YouTube videos, it's very kind and thoughtful of you. Particularly as you put up with my kiwi accent- I forget how strong it is! We live in the part of England where most people speak Jamie Oliver Essex styley. I tend to think/hear in my own head that my accent is a mix of BBC English/Essex, but clearly it is nothing of the sort!! LOL still speaking the New Zealand lingo 100%.

Fresco chalk acrylic paints are all available online here. One tip I forgot to mention on the video, as they are so chalky, I find I don't need to use gesso so much anymore. The paint is perfect direct onto all kinds of surfaces, and generally does not require any primer.

Have a wonderful weekend. I am off to shoot another nitty gritty video.....I think of it as the shabby chic French furniture effect.... A bit similar to today's, but with the addition of crackle glaze, and using lighter shades of paint. It's my most fave technique at the moment. An ikea mirror might like this one!

Take care

Leandra

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