Aging with brown paint with out using glaze

One of my reader’s asked me how I got a brown antiqued look on this dresser….This is a repost from my old blog, but I thought it would answer a few questions…So what’s the best way to age a surface without having to buy glaze???

Sometimes I’ll see something I really like, but it actually doesn’t look old enough or aged enough for me…Many times I’ll age it even more

(like my diningroom walls… help.. I just can’t stop! ;)).

I found This great picture at Homegoods… F0r $3.00, how could I pass it up???The canvas was ripped, and it was pretty trashed(which I actually really liked,), but I decided it wasn’t quite trashed enough…so I aged it even more with a rub of Burnt Umber paint. I have to admit, it actually one of my favorite shades.

So how do you age with craft paint and no glaze?

This is a great technique to use without toxic materials. While I do work with glaze a lot, I like this technique when I need my aging to dry fast and don’t have time for the glaze to dry. It’s instant gratification…especially if you just want to take the brightness out of something and give it a mellower look like to this piano.

Or this side table. The cream color and flowers looked too bright to me for the space.

Or this Tuscan Chair.

I’ve used the technique on paint and wall paper, as well as decoupaged fabric. It’s a great companion to crackle medium too because it gets in all the little cracks and crevasses and really sends a item back in time.

One thing is, you do have to work really fast, because besides being a medium, glaze is a paint extender and gives you more open working time. So why not just use glaze?

Because sometimes you just don’t have any.

Mix 4 parts Burnt Umber craft paint with 1/2 part plain water, till it’s like pancake batter.

take a wet paper towel and rub it over the surface so it’s damp and the paint will glide. Quickly with a wide brush, paint over your area and quickly with a DRY papertowel, rub the color in until it has the aged effect you want;work fast because it will dry really quick. It does take some practice so I would recommend a sample board. IF you want to darken the edges,then dab over the edges and rub in again. Make sure you seal your items with varnish to make the coloration permanent.

If you want to give more depth, use 2 shades such as Van Buren Brown first then the Burnt Umber over the edges. The more porous the material, the better the color will adhere, but the less movement you will get in rubbing it in. Many times if you do mess up, especially on a painted surafce, you can get a really wet towel and much of the paint will lift, but it’s no guarantee.

I love this technique; it’s a great alternative to just giving in and painting something black because you’re not sure what to do with it. You can darken a piece and still let the natural look of the wood come through. And, because the paint is really inexpensive, you don’t need a lot to complete a job, and the effect goes along way.

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