A colorful start.

Yep. I did. I started painting yesterday. I picked a chair and small table from my pile of furniture and commenced. I'm going to paint that mountain of furniture in the cabinet shop to sell. I've set the end of June for a sale date to shoot for. My immediate goal.. to make some money to replace our broken camper awning. Also... if I like doing this... will continue to sell pieces on our website under the name… "A Painted Apple" in hopes of increasing traffic to our site. That's my plan. And well it would be a good thing to keep the shop space generating income when the Carpenter doesn't have a project going. …


And I have some advantages. A large shop space, a carpenter to fix and repair, and my own designer eye for picking pretty paints. How can this go wrong? Well I'm not sure this is for me but the only way I'm gonna know is if I try. At the very least knock out the furniture we've accumulated in the last year.

I am using a "Chalk Paint" technique. Basically you create a paint using a formula of "Plaster of Paris" (my choice at the moment- there are other mediums out there) some water and flat latex. After a couple of coats.. you sand a bit then use a finishing paste wax for a soft natural sheen.

The results of my first day painting were mixed. First I picked a color for each piece in the furniture mountain. Then I mixed and started brushing. The paint drys fast. You have to work fast. I'm not fast. Need to work on that. And I'm not sure about the color I picked to start. I'm calling it "Electric Blue". It just shouts "I'm blue and darn proud of it!". And why did I start with one of the best tables? What was I thinking?

I had to do some rethinking overnight. I'm not a bright bold color person. I'm not into shabby chic pales either. I'm into rich deep colors. I picked a whole new palette this morning in light of this revelation about myself. I want all the furniture to look cohesive together. So that when someone is driving past the sale they notice the beautiful colors together- like the complimentary hues of a beautifully planned out garden. So some good has come of this endeavor already! 

So I'm off to get some supplies and buy some paint. 
It's gonna be a colorful day!

~ the Artist